The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a lot of noise in the NFL world throughout the 2025 offseason due to the organization's pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. The quarterback room is being completely turned over for the second season in a row, and for a while, it looked like fans would have to deal with Mason Rudolph being the starter for the 2025 campaign. Rodgers finally agreed to a deal on Thursday afternoon, which can now allow the Steelers to focus on building the roster in other areas heading into the season.
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Steelers General Manager Omar Khan speaks to members of the media during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
Some fans have been critical about the franchise being okay with starting Rodgers for the 2025 season. He is essentially another Band-Aid for the position, but he was certainly the best option Pittsburgh had once the first couple weeks of free agency came and went. The Steelers did explore other options other than Rodgers, and they attempted to re-sign Justin Fields before he agreed to a deal with the New York Jets. Insider Adam Schefter recently went on Get Up and spoke about how the team actually tried to acquire Matthew Stafford from the Los Angeles Rams as well.
"This was the best move that the Pittsburgh Steelers could make right now," Schefter said. "But, lets also remember, this was the third option for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were in on Matthew Stafford and couldn't get done a trade. They tried to re-sign Justin Fields, he opted to go to the New York Jets where he will meet Aaron Rodgers on opening day. After they couldn't get a trade done for Stafford and couldn't get Fields re-signed, they pivoted to Aaron Rodgers. So Aaron Rodgers, right now, was their third choice."
Schefter was certainly a fan of the move from Pittsburgh, but he also felt it was important to note that Rodgers was not the first option in Pittsburgh. The Steelers did not want to pay Fields as much as the Jets were willing to pay him, while Pittsburgh also inquired with Stafford and the Rams about a trade. Stafford was looking for a new deal at the start of the 2025 offseason, and the Rams granted him permission to speak to other teams about getting a new deal. Had he agreed on a new contract with a team that the Rams couldn't match, a trade would have transpired.
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Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford looks on before an away game.
It was known at the beginning of the offseason that Stafford was speaking with other teams and that the Steelers were interested in the veteran quarterback. He would have been expensive to acquire, and he ultimately ended up agreeing with the Rams on a restructured deal. It is impossible to tell where a potential deal would have fallen apart for the Steelers. It could have been when discussing finances with Stafford, or if the organization got past that point, it could have been trade compensation for Los Angeles.
During that time, Pittsburgh was a likely suitor for Stafford if he were to be traded because of the team's murky quarterback situation. However, the likelihood of that happening was always slim. Los Angeles allowed Stafford to speak to other teams to figure out his true value; that way the franchise wouldn't overpay and could negotiate easier.
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Aaron Rodgers warms up before the New York Jets' preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Steelers Now All-In On Rodgers
Rodgers is going to be the starting quarterback in 2025 for the Steelers, but he was way down the list for the organization. Fields and Stafford were ahead of him, but so was Sam Darnold. It was reported that Pittsburgh offered Darnold a deal at the start of free agency, but the quarterback wound up signing with the Seattle Seahawks. Realistically, Rodgers was at least Pittsburgh's fourth option at quarterback, assuming the organization did not try to pursue anyone outside of Stafford, Fields, and Darnold. At this point however, Rodgers has landed in Pittsburgh just in time for the team's mandatory minicamp, and all systems are go.
What do you think about Rodgers being so far down the list? Are you surprised? Let us know in the comments below!
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