The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering the 2025 season with more hope for contention than any season in the past half-decade. They loaded up on veteran talent on both offense and defense, with names like Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith, DK Metcalf, and Aaron Rodgers joining the squad this offseason.
It was a huge departure from how the Steelers have historically operated, and it carries plenty of risk of failure if the new additions don't live up to the hype. What it also does is invite more weirdness than we usually see from Pittsburgh, considering their historic consistency of playing winning football.
It's been pretty clear what the floor and ceiling are floor is for most Steelers teams in recent years, but there is way more variance in how this season could go. Here are three weird predictions for what Steelers fans could see by the end of 2025.
Weird things that Pittsburgh Steelers could have happen in 2025
Aaron Rodgers is the QB who gets Mike Tomlin fired
After years of terrible quarterback play since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, things settled down a bit with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson in 2024. That wasn't enough to end Pittsburgh's playoff win drought, however, so Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin pivoted to future Hall-of-Fame QB Aaron Rodgers to try and raise the ceiling of the offense.
All signs point to Rodgers being an upgrade over last year's duo, but what if he shows his age even more in 2025? He is 41 years old after all, and he showed clear limitations with the Jets last season.
If Rodgers does regress again, and the offense craters completely, it's possible that an aging defense can't make up for the lack of firepower. If Tomlin's streak of winning seasons came to an end, it may be enough to end his tenure in Pittsburgh.
Steelers defense loses their trump card despite offseason overhaul
The Steelers defense has been a big-play machine for years now, both in terms of sacks and turnovers. 2018 was the last time they didn't finish in the top half of the league in turnovers forced, and even then, they led the league in sacks that season.
You would assume that adding two new starters at corner would only help that, especially when Ramsey was swapped for Minkah Fitzpatrick and his lone interception over the past two years. However, their trio of starting corners and starting safeties has just 11 combined interceptions over the past two seasons.
Add in that the Steelers finished with 40 sacks or fewer for just the second time over the past decade, and the Steelers' defense may not be the playmaking unit we are used to in 2025. I think they may end up bottom 10 in one or both of those categories in 2025, even if the defense overall still performs well.
Arthur Smith gets the axe midseason after Steelers running game flounders again
It's no secret what the Steelers want their offensive identity to be in 2025, because it's exactly the same as last year. Despite ranking 25th in yards per rushing attempt, they ran the ball the fourth most in the entire NFL.
That commitment to the run makes sense with where the talent on the offense is most concentrated, with a strong interior offensive line and talented tight ends and running backs. There are still question marks in the back field, however, and it could lead to a disastrous ground attack in 2025.
Jaylen Warren will be the lead back to start the season, but he has never had to handle a full workload at the NFL level. His efficiency dropped considerably in 2024 as well, as he battled through injury much of the season. Rookie Kaleb Johnson has plenty of promise, but he isn't a creative runner who can manufacture yards by himself.
If the blocking were to be below average again this season, and the Steelers once again finish near the bottom in rushing success, Smith may be the scapegoat for failing to live up to his hype as a run game guru. He could even get fired midseason as an attempt to salvage the offense if it sputters out of the gate.