It's official! After it looked like Aaron Rodgers could leave the Pittsburgh Steelers high and dry, the veteran quarterback and four-time MVP has found a new home in the Steel City. On Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Rodgers has informed the Steelers that he will fly to Pittsburgh on Friday and sign before next week's minicamp. Rodgers was linked to the Steelers since the NFL's negotiation period. Now he's officially coming to town.
This couldn't have come at a better time for a team like Pittsburgh that was reaching desperation mode for a quarterback. Prior to Rodgers' signing, the Steelers had just Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Skylar Thompson under contract at the quarterback position, and it looked like a real possibility that Rudolph was going to be handed the reins as the starter in 2025.
Now the Steelers get a quarterback with an unmatched football resume who gives this team a chance to finally snap their eight-year streak without a playoff win.
The Aaron Rodgers signing just raised the bar for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Before Aaron Rodgers signed with the Steelers, it looked like Pittsburgh was headed toward a dud season. After missing out on the crop of free agent quarterbacks during the 2024 offseason, Mason Rudolph was the projected starter, and there were analysts questioning whether Pittsburgh needed to go after Kirk Cousins in a trade with the Falcons.
Rodgers is far from perfect, but he's everything this team needs right now.
Though Rodgers led the New York Jets to just a 5-12 record this past season, the Jets cleaned out their coaching staff and never stood a shot at overcoming their insurmountable obstacles. Things could be different in Pittsburgh.
Rodgers is 41 years old, but he's coming off a season in which he threw for 3,897 passing yards and 28 touchdowns to go with 11 interceptions. Now, on a better organization that manages to crawl to the finish line with a winning season, no matter who's at the helm, Rodgers could see a resurgence.
In year 21, Rodgers will have the opportunity to sling the rock to weapons like DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin, and Roman Wilson, while more help could be on the way. Meanwhile, his defense could make it so he only has to be a game manager at this stage of his career. In Arthur Smith's offense, the aging quarterback will be asked to play in structure and deliver the ball on time, not carry the team on his shoulders.
Rodgers won't instantly make the Pittsburgh Steelers the Super Bowl favorite out of the AFC (nor should he), but he's night and day better than any other option still on the market or rolling with Mason Rudolph. The front office just raised the bar with the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history, and Steelers fans finally have a reason for hope for the 2025 season.