The Pittsburgh Steelers are stuck in quarterback purgatory, and there seems to be no end in sight. Just one year after letting go of every single passer on the roster, Pittsburgh may be looking at another year of completely revamping the position group, as all three quarterbacks are pending free agents. The only one that is currently under contract for 2025 is Skyler Thompson, a former seventh-round pick that was signed to a futures contract after the Steelers were already eliminated from the playoffs.
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Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson points towards some of his teammates as the offense prepares to run a drill during 2024 mandatory minicamp in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steelers safety DeShon Elliott made sure that the world knew what he thought about the Steelers signing soon-to-be free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers. All that has done is fuel the fires of the rumor mill, as that potential marriage seems like a real possibility, whether the players want it to happen or not.
While making an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Mike Florio was asked about his reaction to Elliott's comments and Rodgers potentially signing in Pittsburgh.
"I feel more strongly about [Rodgers to Pittsburgh] now that it's clear that Aaron Rodgers won't be staying with the Jets," said Florio. "When you look around at his options for 2025, I think he's going to want to go to a place where he's likely to have a final act in his career that would be better than the last two seasons with the Jets, and there are places he could go where there's no reason to believe he's suddenly going to be on a playoff contender."
Like with every other quarterback that could change teams, Pittsburgh is seen as the place to go because they win games and at least make the playoffs. What benefit would Rodgers get from playing for the likes of the New York Giants or the Las Vegas Raiders? Pittsburgh would have the best chance to fix his rock-bottom reputation.
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Aaron Rodgers stands with Mike Tomlin before a game while he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
Florio continued on, saying that any team that signs him would face pushback in the front office due to that reputation. He talks about what would have to happen to make this potential signing a reality.
"[Mike Tomlin] would have to feel convinced that he could steer Aaron Rodgers gently away from the things that make the Aaron Rodgers experience undesirable for people in the organization," explained Florio.
Ever since his final years with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers has developed a reputation for being a control freak that wants to take a team in his own direction. One could argue that he still has the talent necessary to be an NFL quarterback, but his issues go far beyond the on-field product.
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Jets' Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.
In 2024, Rodgers had almost 3,900 passing yards to go with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. However, some of his personal gripes led to the downfall of the team. For starters, he was allegedly not fond of Head Coach Robert Saleh, which led to his firing after Week 5. Without him, the New York Jets' defense crumbled, which was a big reason for the team going 5-12.
Steelers Have Already Had To Deal With Rodgers-Like Situation
Rodgers has proven to be a massive distraction in other ways, like his weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, where he says anything and everything that comes to his mind no matter what. Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays would be a blast for the media, but not for Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
Throughout most of the 2010s, Ben Roethlisberger had his own radio show where he would give some insider information on what was going on, but it usually led to controversy and broken relationships. He would throw his receivers under the bus, whether he was at least partially at fault for the problems or not. Do the Steelers really want to go through that timeline again?
What do you think about the Steelers potentially signing Rodgers? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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