Aaron Rodgers doesn’t plan to return to Green Bay next season, so is there a chance the MVP quarterback plays for the Steelers in 2022?
For the second year in a row, we weren’t quite sure if the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers were going to be able to hash things over. The star quarterback has asked for more say in the business decisions the franchise makes, but when he wasn’t granted this opportunity, Rodgers wanted out.
At this point, it’s almost a sure thing that 2021 will be Rodgers’ last year in Green Bay, and some lucky franchise is going to immediately be Super Bowl contenders again – at least for a few more seasons. Could he hang his hat in Pittsburgh?
The likelihood of Aaron Rodgers coming to the Steel City when he will have a choice in the matter seems unlikely. Still, I wouldn’t call it impossible. Recently, Rodgers was on the Pat McAfee Show where he expressed his regard for the city of Pittsburgh and Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin:
"I love Pittsburgh.. it's a great blue collar tahn & Mike Tomlin is a fantastic coach" -@AaronRodgers12 @PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/oAp7YIzifF
— Pat McAfee Show Quotes (@PatMcAfeequotes) September 28, 2021
Is Aaron Rodgers a realistic option for Steelers after Ben Roethlisberger?
Despite everyone claiming that Aaron Rodgers is now on the radar for the Steelers, I’ve got to be honest with you: his words on the Pat McAffe show didn’t exactly express that he was open to coming to Pittsburgh. Some reports suggest that Rodgers still wants to go to Denver and that seems more likely at this point in time.
Still, there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic. The Steelers have a very talented defense that can keep them in just about any game (assuming there is competent offensive play). In addition, Pittsburgh has a young group of skill players that should continue to improve and could potentially look much better with a different quarterback at the helm.
Trading for Aaron Rodgers next offseason won’t come cheap, as the Packers will probably seek a pair of first-round picks, despite his age. The team that trades for him will also need to turn around and give him a massive contract extension that could make him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL in terms of yearly value.
Fortunately, the Steelers are set to have roughly $49 million in cap space next offseason, according to Over the Cap, and lowering his first-year cap hit on his new deal is always an option. While this seems like an awful lot of compensation, it’s a small price to pay to open Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl window back up again.
Ben Roethlisberger won’t be back next season, and the Steelers need to find the answer after him at quarterback. The Steelers should be all in favor of landing one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen in Aaron Rodgers. Now we just have to hope that he’s willing to come to Pittsburgh.