As the Pittsburgh Steelers players head home from mandatory minicamp, and the media circus around new quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to swirl, Steel City fans start looking toward the team’s September 7 opener. This game will be about so much more than getting off to a 1-0 start. It will be about the direction the team is headed after a turbulent off-season that could have serious repercussions for the team’s future.
After months of courting, the Steelers finally got their man, future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, but was he their man? Sources have said that the Steelers actually wanted to sign one of their two quarterbacks from last season, Justin Fields (preferably) or Russell Wilson, to move forward with as an organization. That didn’t happen. Wilson is now a New York Giant, and Fields is expected to lead the New York Jets offense. So, the Steelers were forced to spend the off-season trying to get their hands on the likes of Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, and Matthew Stafford.
Rodgers ended up being their man, whether he was their first choice or not. Rodgers will turn 42 on December 2. He is coming off a season where he went 5-12 as a starter with the Jets, and his passing stats, while still very good, were definitely below his career averages. Was the drop-off due to age, or was it due to the Jets team he was playing on? Most likely, it was a combination of both.
A team always wants to start their season 1-0, but Week One will be about way more than a win for Pittsburgh. They tried, and failed, to sign Justin Fields to be their starter for the upcoming season. Now he will be facing them in Week One as the Jets’ QB1. How embarrassing would it be for Rodgers and the Steelers to start their season with a loss to Rodgers’ former team, headed by the Steeler quarterback they couldn’t get signed? What if Fields outplays Rodgers in that win? What if Wilson gets a big win for the Giants over the Commanders in Week One as well?
Rodgers will not be the only focus in this game for the Steelers and their fans. The organization let their top rusher, Najee Harris, go during the off-season, and now he is a Charger. The Steelers also traded their leading receiver, George Pickens, to the Cowboys. Fans will be scrutinizing how rookie running back Kaleb Johnson, new wide receiver DK Metcalf, and Rodgers stack up Week One in comparison to Harris with the Chargers, Pickens with the Cowboys, and Fields with the Jets.
Even if Rodgers and the Steelers look great in Week One, fans have to wonder what the plan is at quarterback going forward. The organization didn’t feel comfortable going forward with Mason Rudolph or they wouldn’t have spent so much time and effort chasing all those other quarterbacks. Rodgers’ contract is just a one-year deal, and he would be 42 years old to start next season if they were to want to extend him. That leaves just 2025 Sixth Round draft pick Will Howard as an internal option.
Is Howard the plan going forward? Will Rudolph be given another chance? Are they hoping to make another run at Stafford or Cousins? Are they hoping to play bad enough this year to get a shot at Arch Manning or LaNorris Sellers in the 2026 draft? If that were the case, why sign Rodgers? Why not just try to make it through the season with Rudolph? Many insiders believe that the Steelers are high on South Carolina’s Sellers and that they have the draft capital, win or lose in 2025, to trade up for him if necessary.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans already have mixed feelings about Rodgers at quarterback. He is a very polarizing figure due to all the off-field distractions. He has been a great NFL quarterback, but time is undefeated. He missed pretty much all of 2023 due to injury, and he was noticeably less mobile last season. One of Rodgers’ greatest attributes has been his ability to buy time with his legs, allowing his receivers extra time to get open. How many highlight-reel throws have there been of Rodgers scrambling and making a big throw downfield? That is gone now.
Only time will tell if the addition of Rodgers will work out. Will he lead them to the playoffs? Will he divide the locker room? He has already stated earlier in his career that he feels no obligation to mentor the other quarterbacks on his team. Cam Heyward and DeShon Elliott made very negative comments about Rodgers before he signed. Will they change their tune now that he is in the fold?
Week One in Pittsburgh will be a big measuring stick for the season. Rodgers needs to have a good start (along with Johnson and Metcalf) if the Steelers’ front office wants to quiet the “what ifs” that would inevitably come with a loss to Fields and the Jets. Coach Mike Tomlin will need to impress upon Rodgers that the team does not need the distractions of the media focusing on family feuds, secret weddings, ayahuasca trips, “Jeopardy!” auditions, and anti-vax conspiracies instead of football.
If the team quiets the fans’ doubts in Week One with a big win, the momentum could carry them to an excellent start. Considering the teams the Steelers face in the first six weeks of the season either had losing records last year or come into the season with similar questions at quarterback, they could start 5-0 or 4-1. However, if they lose to the Jets, that momentum could just as easily swing the other way. All that pressure rides on Aaron Rodgers’ shoulders at kickoff on September 7. I am not sure his 41-year-old body will be able to carry that weight.
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