Honestly, with the money that NFL teams make, as long as a team keeps winning and making the playoffs (see Packers too), the season/organization is viewed as a "success". How much more money does a Super Bowl win bring to that 1 team that wins it? I get it, trophies and accolades are nice, but big bank accounts and being set for a long time, works just fine for most teams and players.
Coaches get fired, players get cut/traded, but they are all replaced with new people and every team keeps making money, all is good for NFL Franchises, winners and losers.
True enough - it's a lot easier to sell fans on "make the playoffs and we've got a chance!" whereas on the flip side if you have a year or two of mediocrity there are going to be a lot of fans to tune out and some might just not come back. When you're used to being "in the mix" you can get a bit spoiled and many are going to ask what the point of watching is if they don't really have a chance.
From a financial perspective I'm sure it's fine. They'll keep on keeping on and "good enough" from a sporting perspective is more than good enough financially. Even a pretty average NFL team these days is basically a money printing machine. But from the sporting side of it, as a fan (well, if I were a Steelers fan, if you know what I mean...), I don't know that it's the best way forward, I guess...
If Love suddenly retired and we still had a solid team, I'd be fine bringing in a vet QB as old as Rodgers and with the same skill sets, but pass on Aaron Rodgers the person. Green Bay got away from his drama and should continue on a path forward, not backwards.
What I mean here isn't in a vacuum though - It's not just a choice of Rodgers (or "Rodgers-type") or nothing. In the case of Pittsburgh it's actively choosing to eschew other options because you think Rodgers MIGHT return to you. That's a pretty crucial distinction IMO.
Like, if Love up and retired today, and Rodgers was out there as a free agent and everyone else had already signed up everyone else and the draft was over...then sure. I'd rather have Rodgers at the helm than Kyron Drones right now.
But in the case of Pittsburgh, their season ended January 12th, and with Rodgers on a one-year deal in the first place, he was out of contract. So they basically had the choice between A.) deciding to pivot and go a new direction at QB or B.) wait on a decision for Rodgers to (potentially) return and in doing so pass on signing a free agent QB, pass on drafting a QB earlier, pass on making a trade, etc...At this point you can certainly do worse than Rodgers as a "fallback" option but it feels like the Steelers made him their *primary* option and effectively treated the situation as though there were no better options available to them at any point. is that the case?
While a solid QB is definitely a plus, I think if you have a great defense, good coaching and decent players on offense, a slightly above average QB can take you pretty far in the NFL.
I agree with this, but as much as it pains me to say it, I'm not even sure Rodgers clears that bar at this point.
I think I posted previously that Rodgers still definitely has some strengths to him, and there are some stats that suggest he still has "it" to some degree, but the overall balance...is not trending super positive for him. I think I have watched every single game of Rodgers' professional career to my knowledge and he very much had the look of a player who has time catching up to him very quickly. As discussed mentally - decision making, assessment, analysis/etc is still as sharp as ever. But he can hardly move anymore. He can't make plays on the run, he can't work out of pressure, he can't extend plays, and that seriously hamstrings his overall ceiling. Last season something like 1/3rd of his passes were behind the line of scrimmage because he would constantly have to dump it off as soon as pressure arrived.
Last season he was 14th in passer rating...but 27th in QBR.
16th in TD percentage and 8th in INT percentage...but 27th in pass success rate. 33rd in intended air yards per attempt and completed air yards per attempt (how deep he's trying to throw). All the way down to 24th in "bad throw" percentage and 21st in on target percentage. In terms of ANY/A he was 18th, and he was 22nd in adjusted EPA/play, 22nd in completion percentage over expected, and 30th (last among qualified QBs) in air yards per.
And a crazy stat I read....last season Rodgers had the lowest pressure percentage in the league....but still the shortest time to throw. The Steelers kept a relatively clean pocket but if he gets even a sniff of pressure he's getting rid of the ball. He's always been risk-averse (when it comes to INTs) but last season he basically wouldn't throw to the middle of the field, period.
In other words, like I said - I take no joy in saying it, but by most metrics....Rodgers is an *average* QB at best right now. And by most measures he is indeed below-average now.
I'm rambling now but if I could put it very succinctly I think I would say it like this:
I think that bringing back Rodgers does raise the Steelers floor. I do not think that it does anything to raise their ceiling. 
