This Aaron Rodgers thing might be a disaster. It might. That's the thing – no one really knows right now. For the better part of two decades, starting Rodgers was a no-brainer. His place on the list of all-time great QBs is safe, and outside of a Super Bowl win, history probably won't remember his Steelers tenure all that much one way or another.
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But there's no denying that he gives them a much better chance to win than anyone else that was realistically on their radar, and if he stays healthy, he'll undoubtedly start all 18 regular season games. Right? RIGHT?!
Not if Bleacher Report has anything to say about it. In a new, pretty wild list of NFL trade deadline moves, Bleacher Report threw out a Steelers/Rodgers/Baker Mayfield (???) prediction that is about as Out There as you're going to see this year. Credit where it's due: B/R knows how to keep things interesting.
Bleacher Report thinks the Steelers will bail on Aaron Rodgers for Baker Mayfield
"It's possible considering the team is generally over the hill and the talented but inconsistent Mayfield tied Cousins with a league-high 16 interceptions in 2024. Could a contender with quarterback issues decide to roll the dice on him taking off following a change of scenery? We won't speculate on injuries, but the Steelers and Vikings both come to mind in the event that either the Aaron Rodgers experiment blows up quickly or J.J. McCarthy gets off to a horrible start in Minnesota. We’ll lean toward the Vikes having a longer leash with their young quarterback, because who knows what will happen with the 41-year-old Rodgers."
I don't know what's more unrealistic: the Steelers giving up on Rodgers halfway through the year – after paying him $20 million for one season – or trading for *Baker Mayfield* in response. One of those alone is enough to chew on for a whole day – but two? This is the type of idea that you initially scoff at before chewing on it all day and then sending it to your friends and actually debating the idea legitimately. It's a real thinker. (I'm also not sure how much more of an improvement Mayfield would be over Rodgers here but that's another blog for another day.)
It's unhinged, but I love it. This is the kinda idea I want to blog about in mid-June. Because if we're blogging about this in mid-November, something went horribly wrong.