Like it or not, the Pittsburgh Steelers are rolling with Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback this season. This has naturally led to a slew of different opinions and debate as to what his ceiling is entering his age 42 season.
Despite my general distaste for the move, I’ve seen a lot of lower projections than expected for Rodgers. While people are citing his age and the new system as reasons for his downfall, I feel like those projections are far too critical.
Rodgers could realistically be the best quarterback to play for the Steelers since Ben Roethlisberger.
For Rodgers himself, he has never posted a horrible season when starting the majority of games. As for quarterbacks over the age of 40, that also points to an ok season. Simply put, the offense could actually do better than expected with Rodgers leading the team.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could see a solid season from Aaron Rodgers
It seems like most speculation has Rodgers struggling to throw for over 300 yards this season. A part of that was his struggles with the Jets, as well as the run-heavy scheme that has been the usual for Arthur Smith.
If that were to be the case, that would easily be the worst season of his career. While age is a natural deterrent, there is something to be said about the general ability for a quarterback to make it past that age.
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Tom Brady is the poster child for older quarterbacks, and while he is the exception to the rule, there have been other quarterbacks who started past 40 with great success.
Drew Brees struggled with health after he turned 40, but he was on pace for over 4,300 passing yards and 38 touchdowns in each of his seasons over that age. Rodgers' predecessor in Brett Favre, was a similar story.
Simply put, if the league can view you as a starter at that age, your natural talent has to be that great to compensate. Rodgers can easily have a season similar to these other players.
4,000 yards may be a stretch, but 3,800 seems feasible. I think 30 touchdowns isn’t out of the question either. No, this doesn’t propel the Steelers into contender status, but we haven’t seen quarterback play like that since before Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury.
All of that to say, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about Rodgers' season with the Steelers. It may not amount to any notable postseason runs, but history says that he could have a better-than-expected season in Pittsburgh.