Can QB Aaron Rodgers have a good year for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Technically, just about anything is possible, so sure. But plenty of people, like Nick Wright, don’t believe Rodgers will play well in 2025. Wright doesn’t think he’ll even be a top-20 quarterback this season.
But Yahoo! Sports analyst/writer Nate Tice doesn’t think Rodgers has to be all that great. Even at QB20, he’ll be an upgrade compared to most recent years. Tice joined the Jim Rome Show on Friday afternoon to talk Steelers-Jets. And he can see a path forward for the Steelers’ offense to be successful by taking pressure off Rodgers, rather than relying heavily on him. And it all starts up front.
“The Steelers have a really cool, young offensive line,” Tice said. “Zach Frazier, their center, might be an all All-Pro player this year. They got other guys, Troy Fautanu, their tackle they drafted in the first round last year, was hurt all last year, but is really talented, has looked good… That’s gonna help Rodgers ’cause he doesn’t have to take the protection stuff, the more mental load is taken off of his head. So I think he can be able to do his sheriff stuff when he wants to, the signaling, ’cause he doesn’t have to worry about all the other stuff, and he can stay upright.”
“Even if he’s QB 20, I think that’s an improvement of what they’ve had recently.”@Nate_Tice looks ahead to Aaron Rodgers’ debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers. pic.twitter.com/jKHo9GDKsT
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) September 5, 2025
There is no question that the Steelers need good offensive line play this upcoming season. That’s a given for any team in the league. A good offensive line helps any offense be successful. But when your quarterback is 41 years old, protection is a premium. The Steelers believe Aaron Rodgers can be the quarterback who helps them win a playoff game. But he can’t do that on his back.
The Steelers need players like Frazier and Fautanu to play well this season. Frazier played quite well as a rookie, which is promising. In limited snaps, Fautanu looked solid at right tackle. But he missed the vast majority of his rookie season with a knee injury.
And the Steelers especially need LT Broderick Jones to prove why they traded up to select him back in 2023. Former Steelers OL Trai Essex saw improvement in Jones’ confidence in the preseason, and he believes Jones can play at a high level with a few more tweaks to his game.
For Tice, it isn’t just the offensive line’s pass protection that will help Aaron Rodgers. It’s also how well the run game performs between the line’s blocking and the stable of running backs.
“I think the run game’s gonna be really good,” Tice said. “I really like Jaylen Warren. I really like Kaleb Johnson. He fits the offense perfectly as a zone-running offense.”
If the Steelers can run the ball effectively, much like head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith want to, that will make life easier on Aaron Rodgers. Between a solid running game and an elite defense, the Steelers won’t need Rodgers to chuck the ball around the field 30-plus times a game every week to win. He’ll just need to be effective when the time comes.
