Aaron Rodgers cannot touch Lamar Jackson.
Joe Burrow compared to a 41-year-old Rodgers is laughable in 2025.
So who does Rodgers to the Steelers truly benefit?
Pittsburgh fans who’ve been anxiously waiting to return to the Super Bowl since 2008?
Mike Tomlin, who lives in the playoffs and is the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach, but can’t get out of the AFC wild-card round?
Of course not.
This is all about Rodgers, has always been about Rodgers, and will continue to be about a future Hall of Famer who hasn’t had a winning record since in four seasons.
Which means this is all about Rodgers’ massive ego.
He reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Steelers after making one of the NFL’s most famous teams wait month after month for the inevitable.
A $30 million deal was once linked to Rodgers, but the actual number could come in closer to $20m.
Either way, he’s promised just one year to Pittsburgh, despite the fact that the Steelers still haven’t found a long-term replacement since Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2022.
“The journey has been exhilarating, fueled by a spirit of competition,” Roethlisberger said.
GettyMike Tomlin is betting he can get back to the Super Bowl with Rodgers[/caption]
“Yet the time has come to clean out my locker, hang up my cleats and continue to be all I can be to my wife and children. I retire from football a truly grateful man.”
Will Rodgers ever say anything close to that when he leaves the black and gold behind?
Right now, he’s still trying to prove the New York Jets wrong.
He’s also still trying to prove Green Bay wrong, after foolishly insisting that he was too good for the Packers.
“When I think about you, you identify and you represent everything a Pittsburgh Steeler is,” former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher said when Roethlisberger walked away.
“You played with grit, determination and a degree of toughness. I congratulate you on a job well done.”
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Rodgers is a four-time NFL MVP with 10 Pro Bowl selections, four All-Pro honors and a Super Bowl MVP.
He’s undoubtedly one of the greatest QBs of all-time.
But the Steelers should be building off T.J. Watt’s prime and developing a QB who could lead the team into the next decade, not trying to cash in on the last flame of Rodgers’ 20-year career.
“I’ve been critical of this pursuit pretty much at every step of the way,” Brian Batko, Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, exclusively told talkSPORT.
“I thought this was essentially bringing on another distraction that you don’t necessarily need, and that the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze based on the Rogers that we saw the last couple of years.”
Pittsburgh’s offense isn’t good enough in the AFC North.
Neither are Rodgers’ wide receivers – and what happens if he clashes with DK Metcalf, who had George Pickens-like moments with the Seattle Seahawks?
This whole marriage has felt temporary and forced from day one.
All about Aaron
Aaron Rodgers with Packers: 18 seasons, 59,055 yards, 475 TDs, 147-75-1 record
Rodgers with Jets: 2 seasons, 3,897 yards, 28 TDs, 6-12 record
Age: 41
NFL seasons: 20
Draft: No. 24 overall pick in 2005 (California)
And it took months just to reach the first day, because Rodgers intentionally stayed away from Steelers workouts as long as possible.
He’s only showing up when it’s mandatory.
Action Jackson, Joe Cool and the best QBs in the NFL have been locked in ever since Jalen Hurts trumped Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX.
“It is a little bizarre to me that they’ve let this one get out of the barn the way that it has,” Batko said.
“But I think Mike Tomlin sees it as, ‘Hey, it’s all about what he can do to help us on the field. And when he gets here, he’ll be the best option for us at that position.’ “
Maybe a 41-year-old veteran QB gets Pittsburgh to the playoffs – maybe.
But Rodgers is going to have to lose his ego for it to truly work with the Steelers, and it’s hard to imagine a man who recently considered becoming Vice President of the United States giving up that much power in his final NFL days.
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