The move that has been largely anticipated throughout the offseason finally happened late last week. Aaron Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving the Black and Gold a respectable starting quarterback entering the 2025 season.
Now, all the months of endless speculation and debates regarding if and when he would sign with the Steelers are over. He’s gearing up for the 2025 season and questions regarding his fit with the Steelers and what he has left will be answered.
What will Rodgers look like? What will the Steelers look like with him at the helm? After all, he’s a 41-year-old quarterback coming off a tough 2024 season that saw the Jets go 5-12 with him as the starter.
After looking at the film from last season, though, The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen sees a quarterback in Rodgers who can still play and can have some throws schemed up for him, especially with new receiver DK Metcalf. Despite having some juice left in his right arm, Nguyen believes that Rodgers won’t be good enough for the Steelers to win a playoff game in 2025.
“A more likely optimistic scenario is if the Steelers can be a borderline top-10 rushing attack, allowing them to scheme up throws for Rodgers and finish as a top-15 offense. That would be enough to win if their expensive defense can hold up,” Nguyen writes in a film review for The Athletic. “There’s also potential for the whole thing to blow up like it did in New York, but coach Mike Tomlin has a knack for avoiding disaster.
“The bottom line is Rodgers is the best quarterback Tomlin has had in years. Their ceiling is higher now, but will it be enough for them to win at least one playoff game in the AFC? Unlikely.”
There is no denying that Rodgers, even at his advanced age, is the best quarterback the Steelers have had since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. Rodgers can still masterfully read defenses and get offenses out of bad looks and plays. He can make throws to every level of the field, too.
The only real knock on him at this point on the field is the decline in mobility. At the height of his powers as a four-time NFL MVP, Rodgers was able to ad-lib, create out of structure and make plays left and right on the move, making a mockery of defenders at times.
That’s not the case anymore, especially after the torn Achilles to open the 2023 season. That could be a problem behind a young offensive line in Pittsburgh, though many believe the Steelers’ offensive line will be quite good in 2025.
But he can still win between the ears, can excel in the quick game under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and should be boosted by a strong run game in Pittsburgh. That should bode well enough for the Steelers to be competitive this season. Is that enough to get them over the hump in the playoffs and win a game there for the first time in eight years?
That certainly seems unlikely, but Rodgers should at least give them a puncher’s chance.
