Now that Aaron Rodgers has all but confirmed that 2025 will be his 21st and final NFL season, parallels between his current and former teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets, are only heightened. That’s the case Rich Eisen made reacting to Rodgers’ interview on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday, saying he was “pretty sure” he’ll retire no matter how his season in Pittsburgh goes.
“It does absolutely color the sense of how this is gonna work in Pittsburgh,” Eisen said of the news of Rodgers’ retirement plan. “Who is better? DK Metcalf or Garrett Wilson/Davante Adams. Who is better? Jaylen Warren, the rookie [Kaleb Johnson], or Breece Hall? Who would you rather have offensively? Last year didn’t work out for Rogers and the Jets.”
Though not determinative of the entire season, there will be an immediate reaction based on how the teams open their seasons. Pittsburgh and New York square off in Week 1, a game placed at the top by the NFL schedule makers under the belief and hope Rodgers would sign with the Steelers. Even in a 1 PM/ET time slot, it’s one of the most intriguing matchups to begin the season, especially with ex-Steelers QB Justin Fields on the other sideline.
Rodgers is partially playing because of how 2024 ended. A brutally difficult season that saw New York win just five games with its coaching staff and front office wiped out during or after the season. Rodgers was quickly cut by the new regime, a short meeting he ripped the organization for during a prior appearance on McAfee’s show.
The comparisons will be easy. Can Pittsburgh offer a stronger supporting cast? The wide receiver room is missing an established secondary wide receiver after dealing George Pickens. But there’s a deep tight end group and the hope that Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson can combine forces to offer a talented enough group for Rodgers.
Even if the Jets’ supporting cast was or is better, Eisen thinks a stronger infrastructure gives the Steelers the edge.
“You will not have the head coach fired after Week 5,” he said. “You will not have an offensive coordinator chosen by Rodgers who clearly couldn’t figure out how to make it work, didn’t get the time to make it work. You won’t have a threat of being benched from Art Rooney [II] before firing Mike Tomlin.”
Eisen’s referring to events that transpired in New York a year ago. Reportedly, Jets owner Woody Johnson told then-head coach Robert Saleh to bench Aaron Rodgers after the team’s slow start. That never happened but Saleh was fired shortly after. Under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was stripped of play-calling duties. Pittsburgh will offer far more stability with a head coach and offensive coordinator who will see the year through no matter the circumstances.
“It’s a totally different set of circumstances walking into Pittsburgh than what he walked into New York,” Eisen said.
It’s a low bar to ask and expect Rodgers to better his results in 2025. Pittsburgh hasn’t won only five games since 1988. The question will be if Rodgers and the Steelers can make noise in the playoffs and if they can finish better than the Jets, who have their own Wild Card aspirations.
