When Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers steps foot on the field in Week 1 against the New York Jets, it will be two years since he tore his Achilles’ tendon. It will be quite the journey for him, considering he suffered the injury while a quarterback for the Jets. But it’s been longer since Rodgers has been a top-flight quarterback in the NFL. He was a First-Team All-Pro and Most Valuable Player back in 2021 with the Green Bay Packers.
Between Rodgers’ age and the injury, people have written him off as a quality NFL starter. But you won’t count long-time CBS broadcaster Kevin Harlan among them.
“What he went through as a 39-year-old quarterback, when he snapped his Achilles’ and then came back as a 40-year-old quarterback, and his numbers considering he was only one year removed from that at that age with all those miles on his body, I thought it was remarkable…” Harlan said Friday on NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal. “I think the best of Rodgers at this stage of his career can still be seen, and the Steelers might be just the team to pull it off.”
At 40 years old and only a year removed from a severe injury, you could make the argument that Rodgers’ 2024 was remarkable. He played all 17 games and threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns to only 11 interceptions. Albert Breer shared that there are those around the league who think Rodgers proved he can still play with his performances late in the year. And Harlan thinks 2025 could be even better, thanks to the Steelers.
We all know that Rodgers’ time with the Jets was less than ideal (and that’s putting it mildly). It started off with the injury. Then head coach Robert Saleh was fired mid-season last year. The Jets thought they were getting MVP Aaron Rodgers. Instead, the Jets crashed shortly after takeoff and never recovered.
That’s why they’ve got a new head coach and quarterback, former Steelers QB Justin Fields. And now Rodgers has a new home in Pittsburgh with an organization built on stability and consistency. He won’t be asked to be a franchise savior. But he will be asked to be a key piece in the team’s plans to take the next step.
The Steelers will have a good defense and a run-focused offense to surround Aaron Rodgers. A quality running game makes life easier for a quarterback. And a defense not giving up a ton of points means the offense (and quarterback) doesn’t have to be in desperation mode. That should take the pressure off him, letting him just play quarterback. And the Steelers hope that will be enough to win their first playoff game since 2016.
