With the 2026 NFL Draft feeling like a chance for the Pittsburgh Steelers to find their quarterback of the future, nobody knows precisely how the team might look in 2025 with Aaron Rodgers under center. Rodgers is coming off an up-and-down year, consisting of a lot of ‘downs’ with the New York Jets. There’s a chance things go well, and the Steelers snap their playoff losing streak. However, there’s also a chance things flame out, and the Steelers end up with a top-10 pick.
On ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday, Stephen A. Smith thought Aaron Rodgers has the most to prove in 2025 of all AFC North quarterbacks, despite all of those unknowns.
“For the purposes of these three [Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Rodgers], I’m going to say it’s Aaron Rodgers. There’s been such a precipitous drop-off in his reputation,” Smith said.
The drop in his reputation, which Smith brings up, is very real. Things went terribly for Rodgers with the New York Jets in both 2023 and 2024. Rodgers missed the entire 2023 season after tearing his Achilles on the first drive of the year. He then struggled to get comfortable on that Achilles for most of the 2024 season, winning just five games.
However, thinking Rodgers has more to prove than Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow is interesting, especially since both the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are expected by most to finish ahead of the Steelers in the division.
For Jackson, there’s a ton of pressure. He’s won the league’s MVP award twice, and yet has struggled to amount to much in the postseason. Despite winning the division each of the last two years, Baltimore’s suffered heartbreaking losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in the postseason. With Jackson’s 3-5 playoff record and a team expected to compete for a Super Bowl, there’s a lot of pressure.
That pressure extends to Burrow and the Bengals as well. After going to the Super Bowl in 2021 and losing in the AFC Championship Game in 2022, Cincinnati has gone 9-8 two years in a row and has failed to make the playoffs both years. To be fair, that’s hardly Burrow’s fault. He put together a sensational season last year, and defensive problems (which have rolled into this offseason) have held the team back. Still, there’s pressure for Cincinnati to reach those heights they were able to grasp a couple of years ago.
However, Smith seems to be expecting more from the Steelers. He thinks if Aaron Rodgers plays well enough, the team around him can help push itself into contention.
“Burrow and Lamar are in the AFC North. The expectation is, those are gonna be the two teams,” Smith said. “But you look at the Steelers, and everywhere around them, collectively, you see a team good enough to be relevant, and has the potential to knock one of those guys off the pedestal and make some noise… The issue with the Steelers has been their quarterback. If he [Rodgers] gives you anything, who knows what’s possible within the division.”
Smith has a solid point here, but a lot has to go right with a supporting cast in Pittsburgh that currently has a lot of questions. The offensive line is young, but there’s a ton of potential there. If Kaleb Johnson can figure things out in his rookie year, he’ll form a nice backfield duo with Jaylen Warren. And if the Steelers can get a step forward from Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson, their wide receiver room will look a lot less depleted.
Again, all of those things coming together is a tall ask. However, if they do, who’s to say the Steelers can’t contend amongst Baltimore and Cincinnati? Pittsburgh finished ahead of the Bengals last year, despite their late-season slide. They also still had a chance to win the division going into the final week of the regular season. If things pan out this year, they could find themselves right back in that conversation.
