If you asked 100 people how they expect Aaron Rodgers to perform in 2025, you might get 100 different answers. If you ask FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna how he feels about Rodgers, you’d get a depressing answer, at least from the lens of a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. In a recent piece, McKenna ranked each starting quarterback across the NFL. He placed Rodgers 26th.
“I just want to let myself get excited about DK Metcalf and Kaleb Johnson and Jaylen Warren and Pat Freiermuth and Broderick Jones. And I’d let myself, if it wasn’t for…Aaron Rodgers. It seemed that folks in Pittsburgh breathed a sigh of relief when Rodgers signed: Finally, this nightmare is over,” McKenna wrote. “But that’s not how it works with this version of Rodgers. The nightmare is just beginning.”
The New York Jets would agree with McKenna. They acquired Aaron Rodgers before the 2023 season. At the time, the Jets looked like a team that was a quarterback away from becoming a serious contender. Rodgers was essentially handed the keys to the franchise, and things could not have gone worse. Just a few snaps into his first game as a Jet, Rodgers tore his Achilles. The following year, although he was able to start all 17 games, he won just five.
That stint in New York has tainted the impressive resume Rodgers has put together across the last two decades. It came to an end unceremoniously with new head coach Aaron Glenn having Rodgers travel from California back to New York this offseason, only to let him know he was being released.
Are the Steelers really in for a nightmare, though?
The Steelers aren’t without their faults. However, they’re a far more stable franchise than the Jets. That’s part of the reason Rodgers signed with Pittsburgh, speaking highly of Mike Tomlin on Tuesday. Given the roster around him, Rodgers will have his chances to make things work, although there are question marks as well.
You can look at the Steelers’ supporting cast in two different ways. One is that the unit still has a lot to prove. There’s a rookie third-round running back in line for a load of carries in Kaleb Johnson. In Roman Wilson, the Steelers are counting on a second-year player who’s never caught an NFL pass. The offensive line has potential but is extremely young as well. However, if most of those pieces can jell, Rodgers will have a young, impressive supporting cast around him.
If Rodgers looks like he did at the start of the 2024 season, McKenna will be right. However, he looked much better, and more comfortable during the second half of the year. If he can be that version of himself in Pittsburgh, the Steelers might be in for a dream instead of a nightmare.
