After Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, their two starting quarterbacks from 2024, signed with the New York Jets and New York Giants, respectively, the Pittsburgh Steelers are left with a lackluster group at the most important position in professional sports.
At the moment, Pittsburgh is expected to start Mason Rudolph in 2025, with sixth-round rookie Will Howard as the backup and former Miami Dolphins seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson as the third-string quarterback.
While swapping out George Pickens (traded to the Dallas Cowboys) for DK Metcalf (acquired in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks) should’ve been an improvement for the Steelers’ passing attack, they’ll almost certainly see a drop-off from last year if things remain the same.
However, head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan are apparently still holding out hope that free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers decides to join their roster instead of retiring this offseason.
In fact, Pro Football and Sports Network’s Brandon Austin recently projected Rodgers to sign with the Steelers before their Week 1 game against the New York Jets.
Rodgers, 41, was a first-round pick (No. 24 overall) of the Green Bay Packers in the 2005 NFL draft following a collegiate career split between Butte and California.
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During his 18 seasons with the Packers, Rodgers completed 65.3% of his passes for 59,055 yards, 475 touchdowns and 105 interceptions while winning a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl MVP and four league MVPs.
Green Bay traded Rodgers to the Jets in 2023, and after tearing his Achilles tendon four snaps into his first game with his new team, he returned in 2024 to throw for 3,897 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 63% of his passes. Unfortunately, New York saw little success, finishing with a 5-12 record in his 17 starts.
Rodgers may be near the end of his career, but even in his 40s, two years removed from an Achilles injury, he’d still be a more capable starting quarterback than Rudolph in 2025. Plus, it would be fun to see Rodgers take on his former team in the season opener.
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