The Pittsburgh Steelers succeeded in bringing Aaron Rodgers into the fold flr the 2025 season. However, many fans are concerned about the baggage that he brings with him. His tenure with the New York Jets was an absolute disaster, which resulted in many people losing their jobs. On top of that, he's 41 years old and coming off of one of his worst seasons statistically. Even in an offense that's not reliant on the quarterback position, Steeler Nation does have legitimate reasons to be concerned about the whole situation.
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Former Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a game against the Steelers
While making an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, former executive Louis Riddick spoke about Rodgers and what will be the primary reason for his success in 2025.
"It's amazing what you can do when your mind's not cluttered," Riddick said. "'We're not trying to wear too many hats', and you can just kind of keep the main thing the main thing, and for [Aaron Rodgers], that main thing is pretty d*mn good, which is playing quarterback. He's pretty good at that."
With the Jets, Rodgers reportedly sent a wish-list to the front office before he was traded there. He wanted his players and his coaches there surrounding the team. Whether that report is true or not, the Jets still obliged and brought in numerous former Green Bay Packers to make him feel happy and comfortable. Clearly, they didn't help much, as New York went 5-12 with Rodgers in his one healthy season with that team.
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Former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard embrace before a game.
However, that's clearly not the case with Pittsburgh. For starters, Nathaniel Hackett is not the offensive coordinator. Arthur Smith is still under contract, so he and Rodgers will be working together for 2025 at least. On top of that, the Steelers despise the idea of firing coaches, so the odds of him getting canned for the 41-year-old's former teammate in Tom Arth is highly unlikely. That completely goes against the Steeler Way.
Instead of spending money and draft capital to bring in loads of former Packers and Jets, the Steelers gave up a second-round pick to acquire DK Metcalf in a trade, then they gave him a massive extension to keep him around. Metcalf will most likely be the focal point of the offense, as opposed to loading up on players that had chemistry with Rodgers five years ago in another conference.
The Steelers could still make a trade for Allen Lazard theoretically, but the team already seams thrilled about their current receiver room. There is quite a bit of youth and upside behind Metcalf. The only way to unlock that untapped potential is to let them play and see what happens. Bringing in an aging, struggling wideout and giving up assets for that just doesn't make a lot of sense for Pittsburgh in this case.
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Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson catches a football during a practice in the Steel City.
Rodgers has had lots of communication with the coaching staff and the front office before signing with the Steelers. If they did have any plans on bringing in players to appease him, that has already been talked about. They probably told him that Smith would be his coordinator no matter what, and that they had no interest in hiring someone like Hackett to even be an assistant.
Steelers Will Learn Who Rodgers Truly Is In 2025
There were also concerns about Rodgers publicly complaining while doing his typical Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays for The Pat McAfee Show. If Rodgers truly wants to win, he won't complain about his weapons and try to run them out of town whether they run the wrong route or not. If he keeps using his weekly national media window to talk about all the problems with everyone around him, it will be a very long year for the Steelers.
What do you think about Rodgers potentially doing better by not playing the role of general manager and offensive play caller? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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