It might have taken a bit longer than many had hoped at the start of the offseason, but 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, reuniting with first-year head coach Mike McCarthy, giving the Black and Gold a significant boost ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Adding Rodgers back into the mix should have the Steelers in contention for an AFC North title and a playoff berth once again, especially after they\u00a0shored up areas of need.<\/p>\n
But ESPN\u2019s Dan Graziano doesn\u2019t see it that way. Appearing on Get Up Monday morning, Graziano called it an overreaction that the Steelers will be in AFC North title contention again because Rodgers is back.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it\u2019s an overreaction. They won it [AFC North] on a missed field goal in the last game last year. Aaron Rodgers comes back at 42 years old. Is he gonna play every game?\u201d Graziano said of the Steelers.<\/a> \u201cHe missed one last year, but that\u2019s pretty good. Is he gonna play 16 games again? I think it\u2019s a lot to ask him at this point in his career.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think they\u2019re gonna get a pretty tough challenge this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, the Steelers won the AFC North title last year on a missed field goal from Baltimore kicker Tyler Loop as time expired at Acrisure Stadium. That came after Rodgers led the Steelers to a go-ahead touchdown late in the game on a great throw to Calvin Austin III, who cooked cornerback Chidobe Awuzie with a great route (which was also named the best route of the season<\/a>).<\/p>\n There was some luck there with Loop\u2019s missed field goal, and it came after the Steelers blew a chance to win the division a week prior on the road against the Cleveland Browns. But the Steelers put themselves in a position to win the division, taking a late lead in the winner-take-all game.<\/p>\n They deserve credit for that.<\/p>\n