{"id":44064,"date":"2025-05-12T11:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T11:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/44064\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T11:53:10","slug":"aaron-rodgers-signing-with-steelers-would-be-bad-move-for-him-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/44064\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Rodgers signing with Steelers would be bad move for him, team"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"play\"<\/p>\n

What is Aaron Rodgers’ future? Mina Kimes weighs in<\/p>\n

ESPN analyst Mina Kimes shares her thoughts on what is to come of Aaron Rodgers’ NFL career.<\/p>\n

Sports Seriously<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>‘ \u201cStairway to Seven\u201d remains unfinished more than 16 years into its construction. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers has yet to reach what he desires on his \u2013 let\u2019s call it a \u201cStep Stool to Two\u201d? \u2013 14 years after capturing a ring in his lone Super Sunday appearance, ironically denying the Steelers their seventh Lombardi Trophy when his Green Bay Packers<\/a> prevailed in Super Bowl 45.<\/p>\n

But is a long-awaited shotgun marriage between one of the NFL\u2019s flagship franchises and, arguably, one of the five best quarterbacks to ever play the game truly going to help both achieve the next step each party is so eager to take? Or should a 41-year-old player coming off what was probably the worst full season of his 20-year career and\/or a franchise that\u2019s been mired in mediocrity \u2013 at best \u2013 at the most important position in professional sports perhaps not show up at the altar?<\/p>\n

Two months on since Rodgers reached free agency<\/a> for the first time and since the Steelers began actively retooling their roster for 2025, it\u2019s still not clear what either side will do \u2013 which has only engendered mounting questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get it. Old guys, they don\u2019t get better. They get worse. And all the headaches (Rodgers) brings?\u201d former New York Giants<\/a> vice president of player personnel Marc Ross told USA TODAY Sports when asked about the situation. \u201cNow Pittsburgh, you\u2019re just signing him for his name. You\u2019re not even signing him for anything else. He gives you no chance to win, he gives you no chance to compete against the good teams. And he\u2019s gonna be a pain in the ass \u2013 you\u2019re dealing with drama right now with the guy, and he\u2019s not even on your team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just baffles me. It really absolutely baffles me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For their part, the Steelers have been patiently waiting on Rodgers<\/a>, NFL Network reporting he already has the parameters of a contract in place with Pittsburgh. Rodgers revealed on \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show\u201d last month that he\u2019d spoken with the Steelers, Giants and Minnesota Vikings but that retirement remains on the table as he deals with serious matters \u2013 without providing details \u2013 in his personal life.<\/p>\n

Maybe he should continue focusing on those given his apparent reluctance to commit to Pittsburgh \u2013 not to mention the likelihood he would only play another year or two at a time when his job options in the league have clearly diminished. And, unlike his last team, the New York Jets<\/a>, Rodgers has little familiarity with the Steelers\u2019 offense, players or coaches \u2013 yet that still hasn\u2019t spurred him to get to Western Pennsylvania and become familiarized with them during the team\u2019s offseason activities. And perhaps a more sensible landing spot arises for him in the coming months if a less-flawed contender suddenly finds itself with a serious problem due to an injury or other unforeseen quarterback circumstances.<\/p>\n

As for the Steelers? I opined during preseason last summer<\/a> that they would be best served to start Justin Fields while cultivating the 25-year-old\u2019s development rather than spin their wheels with declining Russell Wilson. They belatedly saw the light, trying to re-sign Fields in March, per reports, but lost him to the Jets after ending the 2024 season on a five-game losing streak (playoffs included) \u2013 all but one of those defeats a blowout \u2013 with Wilson at the helm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So why go down a similar road now?<\/p>\n

NFL POWER RANKINGS Where all 32 teams stand following the 2025 draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the start of the 2017 season, the Steelers have lived just north of ordinary, averaging 10 wins over that period \u2013 but without a single playoff victory, that stretch coinciding with the marked decline and eventual retirement (after the 2021 season) of two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and an ongoing inability to sufficiently replace him. Longtime backup Mason Rudolph, who has 19 NFL starts \u2013 most coming in place of Big Ben \u2013 is the only quarterback currently on Pittsburgh\u2019s roster with any semblance of NFL experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a weird spot that they find themselves in. I think they obviously recognize, too, that they\u2019re kinda like stuck between a rock and a hard place \u2013 otherwise known as purgatory in the NFL,\u201d Louis Riddick, a former NFL personnel executive who\u2019s now an analyst for ESPN, told USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why when you miss at that position, it can screw up everything \u2013 it has such a huge trickle-down effect. Such a huge trickle-down effect. \u2026 Where do you go from here? It\u2019s really hard for them. Do they really want to go through a year with just Mason? Do you really think that (sixth-rounder) Will Howard is gonna become the find of the \u201925 draft?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all starts from just not being able to find Ben\u2019s successor. This is just an absolute, classic case of why it\u2019s so important to have some stability and some success at quarterback \u2013 because when you don\u2019t get it, you\u2019re just ice skating uphill trying to get everything else to go right.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what could go wrong with Rodgers, whose Achilles gave out after four plays in 2023? Then the Jets were so disjointed last season, that they incrementally fired their coaches and GM Joe Douglas before dismissing Rodgers once their new regime was hired. And while he played better at the end of the 2024 campaign, is Rodgers really going to elevate Pittsburgh to a notably superior level that Rudolph or immediate predecessors like Wilson, Fields and now-departed 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett couldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t make them better than what the Justin Fields-Russell Wilson combination gave them last year,\u201d said Ross, now an NFL Network analyst. \u201cAnd for what he\u2019s gonna bring as far as the distractions?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Riddick: \u201cI really do think the grand plan all along was for them to have this Aaron Rodgers thing sewn up long ago. \u2026 Now it\u2019s just kinda like, \u2018What the hell are they trying to do? What is the plan?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes away from the team-building aspect in a very significant way. \u2026 His not signing is screwing up everything they\u2019re trying to get done.\u201d<\/p>\n

My advice to the Steelers? Move on \u2013 and don\u2019t start mortgaging assets to acquire Kirk Cousins from the Atlanta Falcons, either. Pittsburgh is already in the midst of a muddled offseason, making an aggressive trade with the Seattle Seahawks for wideout DK Metcalf before exporting receiver George Pickens<\/a> earlier this week \u2013 a move that oddly came after the 2025 draft, meaning the Steelers won\u2019t get players in return that can help them for at least a year.<\/p>\n

Like every other NFL team, the Steelers also passed multiple times on former University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders<\/a> in the draft, even though he probably has a much better chance to become a long-term NFL starter than Howard. Additionally, Pittsburgh must address the contract of four-time All-Pro pass rusher T.J. Watt, 30, who\u2019s in a walk year.<\/p>\n

2025 NFL DRAFT GRADES Ranking all 32 teams’ classes, including baffling Browns<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet even if Watt re-ups \u2026 and Rodgers joins up and sustains his late-season momentum from 2024 \u2026 and maybe a veteran like Keenan Allen signs up and proves an upgrade \u2013 from schematic and chemistry perspectives \u2013 over Pickens, this team still projects as one that would win nine or 10 games (head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record in 18 seasons), finish behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, perhaps return to the playoffs \u2026 and little else. Why make a similar mistake with Rodgers as they did with Wilson, another former Super Bowl winner past his prime, and wind up picking 20th or so in the draft again \u2013 a spot where teams sift through quarterback choices like Pickett or Paxton Lynch or Johnny Manziel or EJ Manuel or J.P. Losman or Tim Tebow or Brady Quinn, all NFL washouts (except for Pickett, who\u2019s already on his third team) forced to play before they were ready … if they ever would have been.<\/p>\n

Tanking isn\u2019t really a viable route in the NFL. Players who average roughly four seasons in the league can\u2019t afford to put half-hearted efforts on their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s. Tomlin might be an exception, but almost no coach has that kind of luxury, either. And given there\u2019s no such thing as a can\u2019t-miss draft prospect, even a successful tank wouldn\u2019t necessarily result in the desired dividend.<\/p>\n

But being merely decent of late hasn\u2019t satisfied Pittsburgh’s fans nor gotten the Steelers off that \u201cStairway to Seven,\u201d the clever, Led Zeppelin-inspired slogan applied to the organization\u2019s quest to be the first to win seven Super Bowls. Would it perhaps be best to let the levee break with a new approach? Allow Rudolph, who sparked the club’s late-season surge to the 2023 postseason be the starter? Maybe even consider shipping Watt to a contender and accruing significantly more capital for the 2026 draft \u2013 which will be held in Pittsburgh, incidentally \u2013 and give yourself a better shot at potentially drafting Texas\u2019 Arch Manning or LSU\u2019s Garrett Nussmeier at a time when there are expected to be more superior quarterback prospects available than there were this year?<\/p>\n

\u201c(I)f you\u2019re gonna suck, suck all the way. Let\u2019s go get Arch, or let\u2019s go get Nussmeier,\u201d ex-Steelers safety Ryan Clark said on ESPN following the departure of Pickens, a volatile player who wasn\u2019t served well by the quarterback instability and likely wouldn\u2019t have jelled with Rodgers, either. (“That would have been a disaster,” said Ross.)<\/p>\n

But Riddick, for one, doesn\u2019t know if the Rooney family would be willing to allow their team to chart such a course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t even feel like the Steeler Way, for them to ever feel like there\u2019s a throwaway year. I just don\u2019t believe that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t imagine ownership in Pittsburgh giving that directive. … For (Tomlin), too, being there as long as he\u2019s been there and as proud of a dude as he is and the kind of r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that he\u2019s built? I think he would have a hard time stomaching that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

But you know what they say about the definition of insanity \u2013 using the same approach, hoping for different results, etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad that the Steelers are at this point. They\u2019ve botched this for a while \u2013 they just have not been able to get it right since the end of Ben\u2019s time, and they held on to him too long,\u201d said Ross. \u201cThey\u2019ve been terrible at quarterback evaluation since they drafted Big Ben (in 2004). \u2026 At one point, the Steelers were the standard. But that\u2019s just not there anymore. They\u2019ve gotta evolve, and they just have not.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor as great as Mike Tomlin does for making the most out of nothing, at some point you\u2019ve got to get something. \u2026 They used to never miss in the draft, they just miss a lot now \u2013 more than they hit. It\u2019s just something that\u2019s kinda passed them by, and they need to adapt and adjust and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just difficult to envision how Rodgers facilitates that.<\/p>\n

All NFL news on and off the field.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is Aaron Rodgers’ future? Mina Kimes weighs in ESPN analyst Mina Kimes shares her thoughts on what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1635,1586,247,265,210,321,2417,2870,7,519,27,345,226,97,570,1755,560,2418,1458,1255,248,267,330,206,56,255,88,6,320,333,245,338,428,98,520,57,2360,1636,5634,2942,572,140,139,17,9,266,426,1459,1434,225],"class_list":{"0":"post-44064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-aaron","9":"tag-aaron-rodgers","10":"tag-american","11":"tag-american-football","12":"tag-bay","13":"tag-content","14":"tag-dk","15":"tag-dk-metcalf","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-giants","18":"tag-green","19":"tag-green-bay-packers","20":"tag-jets","21":"tag-kenny","22":"tag-kenny-pickett","23":"tag-mason","24":"tag-mason-rudolph","25":"tag-metcalf","26":"tag-mike","27":"tag-mike-tomlin","28":"tag-national","29":"tag-national-sports","30":"tag-negative","31":"tag-new","32":"tag-new-york-giants","33":"tag-new-york-jets","34":"tag-news","35":"tag-nfl","36":"tag-opinion","37":"tag-opinion-content","38":"tag-overall","39":"tag-overall-negative","40":"tag-packers","41":"tag-pickett","42":"tag-pittsburgh","43":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","44":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","45":"tag-rodgers","46":"tag-rudolph","47":"tag-russell","48":"tag-russell-wilson","49":"tag-sanders","50":"tag-shedeur","51":"tag-shedeur-sanders","52":"tag-sports","53":"tag-sports-news","54":"tag-steelers","55":"tag-tomlin","56":"tag-wilson","57":"tag-york"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}