There are plenty of questions about Aaron Rodgers at this point in his career, especially being just two years removed from a torn Achilles, making his signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers an interesting fit.
Despite questions about his mobility, there are no real ones about the arm strength, quick release or even the ability to read defenses quickly and win with his mind. The questions about his age and mobility are loud though, especially his age.
At 41 years old and turning 42 during the season, Rodgers is aiming to do something only one quarterback in NFL history has done 42 and over: throw at least 100 passes in a season and have a QB rating above 76.6 or higher. Only Tom Brady did that in his final season with the New England Patriots and his three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab, he’s not betting on Rodgers becoming the second QB in NFL history to do that. In fact, Schwab believes the Rodgers marriage with the Steelers won’t have been worth it in the end.
“We’re asking Aaron Rogers to be basically the second 42-year-old quarterback in 105 seasons of NFL history to do this [100+ passes, 76.6 or higher QB rating]. I don’t know that that’s really feasible,” Schwab said Wednesday on the Inside Coverage podcast, according to video via the show’s X account. “I will say this though: this team went 10-7 last year with Russell Wilson. Is Aaron Rodgers really gonna be worse than Russell Wilson was last year? Probably not.
“So, I assume you have to say the upside’s higher than 10 wins. But ultimately, at the end of the day, that age curve at quarterback is real. Every other quarterback other than Tom Brady in NFL history, going back to 1920, has been either washed or retired. And I don’t know that I’m willing to bet on Aaron Rogers being the second dude.”
Despite age concerns and the decline in mobility and athleticism, paired with the struggles the New York Jets had last season, it’s fair to wonder if Rodgers has anything left at this point. He didn’t play well for much of the 2024 season with the Jets and really didn’t move well at all.
But late in the season, Rodgers turned it on and seemed to turn the corner with his game. He lit it up in the final five games, putting together nine touchdowns to three interceptions, throwing for 1,270 yards with a QB rating of 98.3, including a 339-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins in that stretch.
In minicamp with the Steelers, his arm reportedly looked great as his whip-like release generated a ton of buzz and headlines, and even people from his past, like former QB coach Tom Clements, stated that Rodgers still has a lot of good football left.
The age factor is against him, though. Father Time is undefeated.
If Rodgers can stay healthy throughout the 2025 season, though, he’ll eclipse the 100-passes mark. And based on the way he takes care of the football and operates in the quick passing game like Brady once did, he should have a QB rating higher than 76.6. It’s understandable that Schwab is betting against it though.
History is against Rodgers. History might also be against the Steelers, who are on their fifth different starting QB in five years since Ben Roethlisberger retired. With Rodgers’ age and questions about his supporting cast, Schwab doesn’t believe it will go well for the Steelers.
“I don’t think this works out really well for the Steelers,” Schwab said. “I think Aaron Rodgers is gonna be fine. I think the Steelers are gonna be fine. And then we’re gonna get to the end of the day and say, was this all really worth it? All this hype, all these headlines, all the waiting, was it really worth it to go 8-8-1?
“I don’t know, maybe.”
The Steelers should be better than 8-8-1. They should win 10 games and be able to create some breathing room early in the year with a weaker portion of the schedule. Late in the year, that’s when we’ll learn a great deal about the Steelers. But there’s a lot of optimism overall for the Steelers with Rodgers under center, giving Pittsburgh its best quarterback since Roethlisberger, paired with a star-studded defense and a Hall of Fame head coach.
It should work. But nothing is guaranteed.
