{"id":928622,"date":"2026-06-25T17:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/928622\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T17:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:45:15","slug":"more-good-than-bad-palazzolo-monson-split-on-steelers-offseason-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/928622\/","title":{"rendered":"‘More Good Than Bad’: Palazzolo, Monson Split On Steelers’ Offseason Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

During an offseason in which Mike Tomlin resigned, Mike McCarthy was hired, and more than 30 new players were added to the roster, the Pittsburgh Steelers were rather busy reshaping things.<\/p>\n

The Steelers put together a strong coaching staff under McCarthy, and made some savvy moves in free agency with the additions of running back Rico Dowdle, cornerback Jamel Dean, defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day and safety Jaquan Brisker, not to mention their trade for receiver Michael Pittman Jr.<\/p>\n

The 2026 draft class wasn\u2019t flashy, but the Steelers added 10 players, creating depth at positions of need.<\/p>\n

Then, the Steelers capped the offseason by re-signing Aaron Rodgers<\/a> for a second season under center.<\/p>\n

And for Check The Mic podcast hosts Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo, the Steelers\u2019 offseason grades rides on the 42-year-old quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say I would give the Steelers a better offseason probably in the Bs just based off those additions, and I think the Rodgers move just depends on what your appetite is for moving on to the future and just making one last go of it. Because the one last go of it is like, yeah, it\u2019s an eight to 10-win team,\u201d Palazzolo said, according to video via YouTube.<\/a> \u201cThe one thing I\u2019ll say though with Tomlin out, they still have a lot of defensive talent and there\u2019s a chance that this defense is more consistent and better. And if they are, Pittman makes the offense better. And I think maybe Mike McCarthy makes the offense a little bit better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a chance to be a little bit better on both sides of the ball and maybe they\u2019re slightly better as a team. But I would say the offseason\u2019s more good than bad for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomlin resigning shortly after their blowout loss in the playoffs was a shock, but the Steelers pivoted quickly and put together a strong offseason. Removing the Rodgers discussion for a second, Khan and McCarthy added experienced veterans to major positions of need. They didn\u2019t overspend, and they got better in a hurry.<\/a><\/p>\n

The real question is Rodgers though. He\u2019s going to turn 43 years old during the season, and while he had some good moments in 2025 and was a solid leader for Pittsburgh, he doesn\u2019t exactly move the needle in 2026, even with the McCarthy reunion.<\/p>\n

The hope is the offense is better around him from the pass catchers to the offensive line and the running game. On paper, that all appears to be the case, so hopefully Rodgers doesn\u2019t have a heavy lift.<\/p>\n

But the Steelers\u2019 decision to bring him back is something Monson just can\u2019t move past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe offseason was definitely all about, \u2018Well, let\u2019s hope Aaron Rodgers is willing to have one last go round,\u2019 but it\u2019s not immediately clear to me that that even makes them that much better anymore,\u201d Monson said. \u201cSo that\u2019s why it\u2019s interesting. I don\u2019t really see the difference between a C-plus and an F based on what Aaron Rodgers is bringing anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would feel better about their offseason if they had gone after Malik Willis and just said, \u2018Thanks, Aaron; didn\u2019t work out, see you on the other side.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Many wanted Pittsburgh to pursue Malik Willis at quarterback this offseason. But the Steelers didn\u2019t do it and saw the Dolphins pay him big money. So, they are rolling with Rodgers.<\/p>\n

It might work, it might not. That\u2019s the path the Steelers chose under center, while also focusing on trying to develop rookie third-round pick Drew Allar and second-year pro Will Howard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During an offseason in which Mike Tomlin resigned, Mike McCarthy was hired, and more than 30 new players…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":923717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,4035,7,7866,6,520,57,2360,12997,426,4036],"class_list":["post-928622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-check-the-mic","tag-football","tag-mike-mccarthy","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-pittsburghsteelers","tag-sam-monson","tag-steelers","tag-steve-palazzolo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116811997059363927","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928622","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=928622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}