The Pittsburgh Steelers' postseason appearance in the first year of their Aaron Rodgers experiment was one of the most pyrrhic victories in recent NFL history. They were trounced soundly in the playoffs, Mike Tomlin was fired, and it apparently convinced the front office they could run it back with the future Hall of Famer under center one more year.
When trying to find the most important question currently circling around the Steelers' collection of signal-callers, ESPN's Dan Graziano defeatedly asked, "Are we really doing this again?" Graziano noted that no playoff-caliber team has had more quarterback miscues than Pittsburgh in the last few years.
Rodgers is joining a packed quarterback room that includes the Steelers' eternal reserve, Mason Rudolph, and a pair of young players who need development: 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard and 2026 third-rounder Drew Allar. This has the potential to be a hot mess for the Steelers, especially if Rodgers continues to put together another painfully average season.
ESPN's Dan Graziano questions the Pittsburgh Steelers' decision to run it back with Aaron Rodgers
Not unlike his lone healthy season with the New York Jets, Rodgers put up good box score numbers (24 touchdown passes, seven interceptions) that obscured terrible underlying numbers. His low average depth of target and inability to avoid pressure like he used to have put a hard cap on Pittsburgh's offensive potential.
Even though Rodgers has seemingly toned down many of the antics that ruined his time with the Jets, that doesn't change the fact that Pittsburgh has signed for what may likely be a repeat of 2025. The talent is good enough to win games, but unless he turns into Green Bay Rodgers when he turns 43 in December, Mike McCarthy may not break through in his debut season.
If the Steelers are truly trying to rebuild after years of sneaking into the playoffs before getting pounded flat under Tomlin, why not let the young guys try to prove they can be the guy? Allar and Howard may go through growing pains, but Rodgers won't be here beyond this season. Why not get as much intel on these two as possible?
The Steelers may have swapped out their coach, but Rodgers is keeping them in the same spot they have been in for the last half-decade. The team is good enough to barely sneak into the playoffs, but Rodgers will make it very difficult to prevail against the best of the best in the AFC.
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