Enough is enough: Why Steelers should pull plug on signing Aaron Rodgers rather than waiting ‘a little longer’

If you thought the Aaron Rodgers-Pittsburgh Steelers marriage would commence sometime relatively soon, you’ll be greatly disappointed with Steelers president Art Rooney II’s recent update on the situation. 

As he was exiting Wednesday’s league meetings, Rooney told ESPN that the team will wait “a little while longer” for Rodgers to make a decision, which was essentially Rooney’s answer when asked the same question well over a month ago. 

So, instead of getting some clarity, we continue to go down this roller coaster that is the Aaron Rodgers Experience. While you won’t find him participating in OTAs in Pittsburgh, you can check out the recent, three-hour podcast he did with Joe Rogan. Hey, everyone has priorities, right? 

Personally, I’d rather see the Steelers sign Rodgers this season, just not for the reasons you may be thinking of. 

We all know entertainment sells, not bland 9-8 teams with quarterbacks who share the same last name with a mystical Christmas reindeer (Mason Rudolph). To borrow a phrase from the Martin Scorsese gif, the Steelers signing Rodgers would be “absolute cinema,” and I’m here for it. 

I’m also a dorky, self-proclaimed NFL historian and helpless romantic of sports redemption stories. Watching a living legend try to revive his career with a blue-blood NFL franchise trying to recapture its own championship glory is a narrative too good to resist. 

For those reasons, the Steelers signing Rodgers is more than good with me. But while I may be OK with it, it’s not the best decision for the Steelers logically speaking. 

The Steelers, who never concede a season (they have 21 consecutive non-losing seasons as proof of this), are surely thinking that Rodgers could be the missing puzzle piece to finally snapping their eight-year drought without a playoff win. Pittsburgh started 10-3 last season, after all, before they crumbled to an 0-5 finish. Poor quarterback play was partly to blame for the collapse. The Steelers’ roster is better now, and Pittsburgh may not be entirely wrong in their thinking that signing Rodgers (and a receiver of his liking) should be enough to register a playoff win — and perhaps even more in 2025. 

Those things could certainly happen, but a lot would have to fall into place. Rodgers would have to play at level he hasn’t since 2021, his fourth MVP season. Pittsburgh’s young offensive line will have to come of age in a hurry. The Steelers will have to find an adequate No. 2 wideout to complement DK Metcalf. The defense will need to play significantly better than they did down the stretch last year, when they were beaten and brutalized by seemingly everyone — especially the Baltimore Ravens, who gashed them to the tune of 299 yard rushings in the AFC wild card round. 

A glass half-full person, I can see enough things falling into place in which the Steelers, with Rodgers in town, could have a nice season that includes a highly coveted playoff win. That’s the optimist in me. The realist, however, sees a different, less rosy outcome for Mike Tomlin’s team if Rodgers is signed. 

I’m not on the Jets‘ beat, but I watched plenty of Rodgers’ games last season. Half the time, Rodgers played relatively close to his usual level. The rest of the time, however, Rodgers looked like a shell of his former self. He looked tentative, unsure of himself and what he wanted to next. Oftentimes in those moments, Rodgers made either the wrong decision or simply a bad play. This occurred on more than one occasion during the Jets’ mid-season loss to Pittsburgh, with the main beneficiary of Rodgers’ miscues being then-Steelers undrafted rookie defensive back Beanie Bishop Jr., who picked off Rodgers twice. 

Two of Rodgers’ plays last season have stayed lodged in my head: his breathtaking touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson during his first game as a Jet, and an inexcusable interception during a late-season blowout loss in Buffalo. His touchdown pass to Wilson was a reminder of the brilliance that is still in Rodgers’ arm and mind. The interception, however, is a sober reminder of Rodgers’ diminishing skills. 

Steelers fans remember when Ben Roethlisberger lost his mobility and was reduced to a statue during the final years of his future Hall of Fame career. They’ll watch the same movie now if Rodgers comes to town. Like Big Ben, Rodgers used his mobility in his prime to extend plays. It was a big part of his arsenal and one of the reasons why he too will be inducted into Canton, Ohio, one day. And while his mobility might be better this year than it was in 2024 (when he was a year removed from his major Achilles injury), the mobile Rodgers of old is gone and has been replaced by a Rodgers who is just, well, old. 

Physical ability aside, signing Rodgers presents intangible risks that probably aren’t worth it. With Rodgers, you’re inviting the circus to your city, your locker room, huddle, etc. Headlines will be filed throughout the country every time Rodgers speaks on Pat McAfee’s show, and teammates will be constantly be needled with questions about him about him. It’ll only be a matter of time before Tomlin or another high-ranking member of the team (T.J. Watt? Cam Heyward? Minkah Fitzpatrick?) has simply had enough. 

There’s also the optics of the situation. What does it say to the players who are participating in OTAs (especially quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Will Howard) when Rodgers eventually shows up and is basically given the starting job? Obviously, the situation will be rationalized as a legend who doesn’t need to take part in voluntary workouts at this stage of his career. Sure, there’s probably a lot of truth to that, but that doesn’t make it right, especially in the eyes of at least several players. 

From a personnel standpoint, adding Rodgers will hinder the team’s ability to see what they might have in Howard, a college national champion who has some considerable potential. There’s also the Rudolph factor. He won his last three regular-season starts in Pittsburgh and has been busy this offseason learning the team’s playbook and developing a rapport with his teammates. Rest assured that not everyone will be happy to see him relinquish his job to someone who hasn’t been around, even if that someone is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. 

In the end, though, this is all largely a moot point. The Steelers, if we’re being brutally honest, will likely spend Super Bowl Sunday watching the game like the rest of us. Pittsburgh’s roster is good, but probably not good enough to truly compete with the conference’s heavyweights. The Steelers, more likely than not, will have another nice season with the ceiling being a playoff win. 

In 2026, however, the Steelers — who will be armed with a bevy of draft picks — are expected to go all-in to find their longterm quarterback. They’ll never say it, but the 2025 season is an experimental one for the black and gold: Let’s see how good we can be this year before we load up and commit to our future at the quarterback position in 2026. That’s why, regardless of what they do at quarterback this year, it probably won’t mean much longterm. 

There’s a chance that it could lead to a happy ending, both for Rodgers and for the team, but the odds of that happening aren’t great. The Steelers are better off without him.