The Pittsburgh Steelers finally brought closure to months of rumors that finally ended with Aaron Rodgers agreeing to a one-year contract to be the team's starting quarterback in the 2025 NFL season.
Rodgers can still throw the ball, but part of the reason his market wasn't as fruitful as he may have hoped is the fact that the future Hall of Famer's penchant for bringing his friends to town can often lead to his downfall. Pittsburgh, however, seemed undaunted by that possibility.
Steelers fans dreading the idea of Rodgers getting his ill-fated Packers and Jets bands back together might need to prepare for a dose of reality. It seems likely that at least one of these three Rodgers friends will make the trip to Pittsburgh with him.
Aaron Rodgers could bring these 3 friends to Pittsburgh
Allen Lazard
Lazard is currently positioned to be WR2 for the Jets in 2025, but they could easily move off him in a year that is all about rebuilding with younger players. Rodgers will likely be banging his table to sign Lazard, with whom he apparently has a very deep football connection.
The Steelers have already acquired DK Metcalf, and they are still snooping around both the Jonnu Smith and Gabe Davis markets. This team wants one more pass catcher to complete their room, and Lazard might be the most realistic target left.
Nathaniel Hackett
Hackett has become such a toxic force in the NFL that no one is going anywhere near him after his latest mess of a Jets tenure. Hackett's schemes are bland and his play-calling is some of the worst in the league, which means that Rodgers will likely want him to link up in Pittsburgh. Wait...what?
Anyone who doesn't think Rodgers will try to get Hackett a role as a senior offensive analyst in Pittsburgh may also be interested in buying bridges. Rodgers is Hackett's biggest fan, and any team that brings in Rodgers will likely be willing to make some concessions on personnel.
Randall Cobb
Hey, Tom Brady managed to pull Rob Gronkowski out of retirement, and Rodgers' voice helped keep Cobb employed for three seasons at the end of his career. Cobb is currently working as an SEC Network analyst, but if he wants one more go at it, the Steelers will at least give him a preseason tryout if Rodgers begs.
If Cobb wants to consider a career change and get into coaching, which could be very fruitful after he established himself as a dynamite veteran leader with Green Bay, Rodgers' voice might be enough to get him an assistant role working with wide receivers. These two are still joined at the hip.