When the Pittsburgh Steelers pursued Aaron Rodgers in free agency, it signaled a win-now mindset — a push to maximize their window with a talented but aging defense before it closes. They could have signed Justin Fields as a potential long-term solution, but instead had their mind made up on maximizing the 2025 season.
Albert Breer explained the Steelers’ mentality at quarterback last offseason and what lies ahead in the post-Rodgers era via his mailbag at SI.com.
“Part of the equation in signing Aaron Rodgers was that they only had so many swings left with guys such as T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them,” Breer wrote. “They actually did look really hard at bringing back Justin Fields, but what stopped them, as best I could ascertain it, was that they needed to find a way to move the needle at that spot to become more than the fringe playoff team they’ve been the past few years.”
Pittsburgh’s time horizon to compete wasn’t two or three years down the road; it was now. That’s why, despite reported support in the building for Fields at just 26 years old as a potential long-term option to further develop, the Steelers opted for the grizzled old vet with a championship and Hall of Fame pedigree.
If you think about it, it’s the same reason the Steelers switched to Russell Wilson when Fields had them at 4-2 last season. Wilson had the pedigree and experience, even if Fields was showing promise to develop. The same logic that landed them in that situation informed their decision to move forward with Rodgers, knowing full well that uncertainty at quarterback lies ahead.
So what does that mean for the organization if they don’t accomplish their goals in the playoffs this year? Even if Rodgers returns, that just kicks the can down the road one more year. Breer thinks a major shift is coming.
“This is their swing at it, and post-Aaron Rodgers, there’s probably a pretty serious retooling coming,” Breer said.
The initial question in Breer’s mailbag that elicited this response was about whether the Steelers are prepping to wipe the slate clean for a full reset once Rodgers retires. The question specifically asked whether Tomlin would be part of the purge.
Breer doesn’t grapple with that part of the question directly, but says “I think the Steelers have been set up for that the whole time,” before jumping into the rest of his response above.
Tomlin’s job feels pretty safe, especially considering he signed a three-year contract extension last offseason that runs through the 2027 season. The Steelers don’t pay coaches nearly $17 million per season to move on from them and pay somebody else. But it feels unlikely that Rodgers has another season left in him, let alone two to get to the end of Tomlin’s contract.
At some point, the Rooney family and Omar Khan will have to decide if they want Tomlin to be part of the transition to the next era or if they want a fresh perspective in the building that they can build alongside a new quarterback.
Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Tomlin has always been in win-now mode. He has always had either Ben Roethlisberger, aging Hall of Fame defenders, or now, Aaron Rodgers. The real question is what happens when win-now finally runs out of time.
