State of our former QB, Aaron Rodgers

[Heyjoe4]

The only one who got his name in the books was Havrisil.

That's a bit ironic. The backup who made the best use of his playing time was a K. Yikes.

 

[Pkrjones]

AR will be a Steeler, again, in '26. Signed for $22mil base, with chance to make up to $25mil. That makes 2 former GB QB's making $25mil this season, AR & Malik Willis.

 

[Heyjoe4]

AR will be a Steeler, again, in '26. Signed for $22mil base, with chance to make up to $25mil. That makes 2 former GB QB's making $25mil this season, AR & Malik Willis.

Thanks Pkr. If my memory is correct (a long shot), I thought AR made about $15 mil last year. This looks like a hefty pay raise. But by NFL standards, a QB with a one year contract at $22 million is "cheap". Yeah, right.

Anyway I'm glad he's playing another year and will be playing for MM again. I don't expect the team to be much better than last year, but a playoff spot again seems reasonable to expect.

Rodgers is always fun to watch. He can't move very much outside the pocket, but that arm and that sixth sense are still deadly.

 

[milani]

Thanks Pkr. If my memory is correct (a long shot), I thought AR made about $15 mil last year. This looks like a hefty pay raise. But by NFL standards, a QB with a one year contract at $22 million is "cheap". Yeah, right.

Anyway I'm glad he's playing another year and will be playing for MM again. I don't expect the team to be much better than last year, but a playoff spot again seems reasonable to expect.

Rodgers is always fun to watch. He can't move very much outside the pocket, but that arm and that sixth sense are still deadly.

I am anxious to see if the Steeler Defense is the physical, tenacious group that it was under Timlin and his predecessor for the last 25 years. Will it become soft under MM?

 

[rmontro]

Anyway I'm glad he's playing another year and will be playing for MM again.

It will be interesting to see how Rodgers responds to playing under McCarthy again, those were some of their glory days.
Got to hand it to McCarthy, he keeps getting head coaching jobs.

 

[milani]

It will be interesting to see how Rodgers responds to playing under McCarthy again, those were some of their glory days.
Got to hand it to McCarthy, he keeps getting head coaching jobs.

MM will be out there looking at the play sheets and AR will be calling whatever he likes. And they will get along fine. Both in the twilight of football, why fight?

 

[rmontro]

MM will be out there looking at the play sheets and AR will be calling whatever he likes. And they will get along fine. Both in the twilight of football, why fight?

Hey, whatever works

 

[Magooch]

That's still pretty affordable, but I have to say, as much as I like Rodgers to me that makes bringing him back make even less sense now.

Are the Steelers just THAT unconvinced by their other options? Did they like what they saw from Rodgers last year more than Malik Willis, for example? The Vikings are paying Kyler Murray just 1.5m or something. Did Pittsburgh feel like Rodgers will be ~23m better than Murray for them?*

Last year's Steelers offense was thoroughly mediocre. I mean, in almost every sense. Pretty sure they were right at 16 or 17 in offensive EPA. Rodgers' mind for processing defenses, adjustments, decision-making, etc is still as sharp as anyone in the league. He can probably still diagnose a play better than just about anyone else. But he has virtually zero mobility at this point. You look at Rodgers' best years for us and a big factor in his best performances was the way he could make something out of nothing, avoid pressure, make plays on the move, etc. Think of all the biggest throws/plays in Rodgers' careers. This iteration of Rodgers simply no longer has the ability to make those plays.

The Steelers did add some talent on offense, and maybe McCarthy can in some way maximize the abilities Rodgers currently possesses (though on the other hand it's not like the last we saw of Rodgers+McCarthy was that encouraging), but it's pretty wild to me that the Pittsburgh brass saw last year's performances and decided it merited a 70% pay raise... I mean, did the Steelers just offer that kind of money to convince him to return? Did he ask for a big raise and they felt like they owed it to him or just had to accept it because they didn't like their other options?

I just don't know. I'm as big of a Rodgers fan as anybody but this just doesn't make much sense to me. And now what do you do with the rest of the QB room? Do you carry 4 QBs on the roster? You drafted Howard last year, but he didn't take a single snap. You drafted Allar this year in the 3rd. And then there's Mason Rudolph, who has a pretty well-established ceiling IMO...but also is the only other player with NFL experience in that group. It's just a very weird situation here that I feel like still leaves them in a weird purgatory-type spot.

*Of course it's a two-way street and those guys (Willis, Murray, whoever) have to agree to move to Pittsburgh. Maybe they weren't interested. But who can say...

 

[gopkrs]

Just off the cuff, I'd say if Howard and Allar are any good at all; the steelers are thinking to give them ripening time under Rodgers. And Rudolf for this year if Rodgers gets hurt. Though it seems strange they drafted another QB in the 3rd this year. They must like something there. Or maybe they don't like Howard.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Just off the cuff, I'd say if Howard and Allar are any good at all; the steelers are thinking to give them ripening time under Rodgers. And Rudolf for this year if Rodgers gets hurt. Though it seems strange they drafted another QB in the 3rd this year. They must like something there. Or maybe they don't like Howard.

Agree

Rodgers brings the Steelers quite a bit, at the price he signed for

1. Very veteran FHOF QB, with a ton of experience and can still throw a good ball

2. Knows the Steelers Offense and personnel

3. Familiarity with Mike McCarthy and his mindset

4. Tutor for the 2 young QB's that the Steelers invested draft capital in during the last 2 drafts. Neither QB are probably ready to start

5. 1 year contract. This might be one of the biggest pluses for the Steelers. No long term commitment and potential dead cap if Rodgers fails

6. Brings and keeps fans in the stands

 

[Schultz]

That's still pretty affordable, but I have to say, as much as I like Rodgers to me that makes bringing him back make even less sense now.

Are the Steelers just THAT unconvinced by their other options? Did they like what they saw from Rodgers last year more than Malik Willis, for example? The Vikings are paying Kyler Murray just 1.5m or something. Did Pittsburgh feel like Rodgers will be ~23m better than Murray for them?*

Last year's Steelers offense was thoroughly mediocre. I mean, in almost every sense. Pretty sure they were right at 16 or 17 in offensive EPA. Rodgers' mind for processing defenses, adjustments, decision-making, etc is still as sharp as anyone in the league. He can probably still diagnose a play better than just about anyone else. But he has virtually zero mobility at this point. You look at Rodgers' best years for us and a big factor in his best performances was the way he could make something out of nothing, avoid pressure, make plays on the move, etc. Think of all the biggest throws/plays in Rodgers' careers. This iteration of Rodgers simply no longer has the ability to make those plays.

The Steelers did add some talent on offense, and maybe McCarthy can in some way maximize the abilities Rodgers currently possesses (though on the other hand it's not like the last we saw of Rodgers+McCarthy was that encouraging), but it's pretty wild to me that the Pittsburgh brass saw last year's performances and decided it merited a 70% pay raise... I mean, did the Steelers just offer that kind of money to convince him to return? Did he ask for a big raise and they felt like they owed it to him or just had to accept it because they didn't like their other options?

I just don't know. I'm as big of a Rodgers fan as anybody but this just doesn't make much sense to me. And now what do you do with the rest of the QB room? Do you carry 4 QBs on the roster? You drafted Howard last year, but he didn't take a single snap. You drafted Allar this year in the 3rd. And then there's Mason Rudolph, who has a pretty well-established ceiling IMO...but also is the only other player with NFL experience in that group. It's just a very weird situation here that I feel like still leaves them in a weird purgatory-type spot.

*Of course it's a two-way street and those guys (Willis, Murray, whoever) have to agree to move to Pittsburgh. Maybe they weren't interested. But who can say...

My only question from this post is} did Murray except the 1.5 million because Arizona is also still paying him?

 

[rmontro]

The Steelers did add some talent on offense, and maybe McCarthy can in some way maximize the abilities Rodgers currently possesses

It's gonna be the reunion tour, baby! All the Steelers have to do now is sign up Jordy Nelson.

 

[Pkrjones]

My only question from this post is} did Murray except the 1.5 million because Arizona is also still paying him?

Yes, his contract contains offsets so that the amount of new contract is subtracted from amount Arizona pays... no reason for him to sign for more than minimum.

 

[OldSchool101]

I’m always happy when good competition gets added in the AFC Conference. The Steelers Defense was supposed to be upgraded with veterans in 2025, but they landed middle of the road. The Steelers Offense was middling also last year. Good enough to qualify for playoffs but like us they had little chance of a deep playoff run. This year the Steelers invested two thirds of their chips into the Offense, so I’m expecting a Top 6-12 ranked Offense.

I just don’t think Pittsburgh did enough on Defense to turn the tide. Unless Patrick Graham breaks his pattern of being a bottom 25% DC for 70% of his career? I’d be beyond concerned as a Steelers fan.

 

[gopkrs]

Yes, his contract contains offsets so that the amount of new contract is subtracted from amount Arizona pays... no reason for him to sign for more than minimum.

I think Arizona is paying him something like $30M

 

[Heyjoe4]

I am anxious to see if the Steeler Defense is the physical, tenacious group that it was under Timlin and his predecessor for the last 25 years. Will it become soft under MM?

Yeah the Steelers are certainly known for their D - the Steel Curtain and the Terrible Towels. MM is all about offense. should be interesting. They do need a long-term solution at QB, just like all teams. But given the QBs on the roster now, bringing Rodgers back for one year makes the most sense. And he wants to play - good for him.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I’m always happy when good competition gets added in the AFC Conference. The Steelers Defense was supposed to be upgraded with veterans in 2025, but they landed middle of the road. The Steelers Offense was middling also last year. Good enough to qualify for playoffs but like us they had little chance of a deep playoff run. This year the Steelers invested two thirds of their chips into the Offense, so I’m expecting a Top 6-12 ranked Offense.

I just don’t think Pittsburgh did enough on Defense to turn the tide. Unless Patrick Graham breaks his pattern of being a bottom 25% DC for 70% of his career? I’d be beyond concerned as a Steelers fan.

I expect the Steelers season will look a lot like the last one. Good team - one-and -done in the playoffs. Hmm, that sounds familiar…….

 

[Heyjoe4]

That's still pretty affordable, but I have to say, as much as I like Rodgers to me that makes bringing him back make even less sense now.

Are the Steelers just THAT unconvinced by their other options? Did they like what they saw from Rodgers last year more than Malik Willis, for example? The Vikings are paying Kyler Murray just 1.5m or something. Did Pittsburgh feel like Rodgers will be ~23m better than Murray for them?*

Last year's Steelers offense was thoroughly mediocre. I mean, in almost every sense. Pretty sure they were right at 16 or 17 in offensive EPA. Rodgers' mind for processing defenses, adjustments, decision-making, etc is still as sharp as anyone in the league. He can probably still diagnose a play better than just about anyone else. But he has virtually zero mobility at this point. You look at Rodgers' best years for us and a big factor in his best performances was the way he could make something out of nothing, avoid pressure, make plays on the move, etc. Think of all the biggest throws/plays in Rodgers' careers. This iteration of Rodgers simply no longer has the ability to make those plays.

The Steelers did add some talent on offense, and maybe McCarthy can in some way maximize the abilities Rodgers currently possesses (though on the other hand it's not like the last we saw of Rodgers+McCarthy was that encouraging), but it's pretty wild to me that the Pittsburgh brass saw last year's performances and decided it merited a 70% pay raise... I mean, did the Steelers just offer that kind of money to convince him to return? Did he ask for a big raise and they felt like they owed it to him or just had to accept it because they didn't like their other options?

I just don't know. I'm as big of a Rodgers fan as anybody but this just doesn't make much sense to me. And now what do you do with the rest of the QB room? Do you carry 4 QBs on the roster? You drafted Howard last year, but he didn't take a single snap. You drafted Allar this year in the 3rd. And then there's Mason Rudolph, who has a pretty well-established ceiling IMO...but also is the only other player with NFL experience in that group. It's just a very weird situation here that I feel like still leaves them in a weird purgatory-type spot.

*Of course it's a two-way street and those guys (Willis, Murray, whoever) have to agree to move to Pittsburgh. Maybe they weren't interested. But who can say...

I'm puzzled by how the Steelers have handled (or not handled) their QB situation. They don't have anybody on the roster better than Rodgers, but Rodgers, as good as he still is, won't be around long. You mention Willis. I don't know if the Steelers tried to acquire him.

Well I'm glad I'm a Packers' fan. Gluten isn't perfect but he has a damn good track record with personnel.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

My only question from this post is} did Murray except the 1.5 million because Arizona is also still paying him?

Yes, his contract contains offsets so that the amount of new contract is subtracted from amount Arizona pays... no reason for him to sign for more than minimum.

Yup.

Murray wasn't going to make any more money than he was already guaranteed to receive from Arizona, so a vet minimum contract ($1.3M) with his new team is a smart move. Since it allows the Vikings more cap space to spend on other pieces to try and improve Murray's new team. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are on the hook to pay Murry the other $36.8M of his guaranteed $38.1M salary.

If Murray can stay healthy, the Vikings got themselves one heck of a bargain free agent QB. Packers new DC, Jonathan Gannon was Murray's HC for 3 years at Arizona, so I hope that gives the Packers defense a bit of an edge when they face him.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I'm puzzled by how the Steelers have handled (or not handled) their QB situation. They don't have anybody on the roster better than Rodgers, but Rodgers, as good as he still is, won't be around long. You mention Willis. I don't know if the Steelers tried to acquire him.

Pretty similar problem for quite a few teams, finding that franchise QB. Seems like drafting one can be a total crap shoot and to even have a decent shot at a top college QB, you almost need to tank your season and have one of the top 2 picks. Then you have to develop most young QB's behind someone like Rodgers. Maybe they see their 2 young QB's as perfect Rodgers understudies?

Sometimes you get lucky and can find a QB that has been in the NFL long enough, and with a new system/team gets better (see Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, ). While the Steelers might have been able to find a longer term solution at QB, I think they were happy with Rodgers and he really didn't cost them much, compared to most starting QB's.

 

[Magooch]

Let me ask it like this:

Suppose that at the end of last season Jordan Love unexpectedly decides to retire young and walk away from the game.

And let's just suppose Rodgers is willing to come back...how many of us would want to pay him 25m/yr to come be QB for a year? It's hard for me to say that would be a more appealing option than trying out Willis, for instance (the main selling point in favor of Rodgers is probably no guaranteed money beyond this year. They will make roughly the same AAV but Willis gets 45m guaranteed, for example)

Overall though it just feels like the Steelers as an organization are so absolutely opposed to having a "down" year that they would simply rather continue on with "bridge" QBs and just hope for the best. I mean, let's fast forward to next year. Let's say that the Steelers perform as well as they did last year, maybe even a little better! That would be more or less a "success" for Rodgers' time with them.

That means they are probably again picking in that #20ish spot. And if you had to guess... they are probably drafting after teams like the Jets, Cardinals, Browns, Dolphins, maybe the Bucs....any and/or all of whom could reasonably be looking to take a QB. I'd say your top two are pretty unanimously Arch Manning and Dante Moore so it's safe to say they're gone. And it wouldn't be too surprising if you saw one or two of Julian Sayin, CJ Carr, LaNorris Sellers, etc taken in that span as well. All that to say - it would not be the most surprising thing in the world to see the Steelers looking at something like QB4 or QB5 when they're due to pick. Are they going to be all-in on signing someone like Sellers, Mensah, Mestemaker, Maiava, whoever at that point? Will they package capital to move up to get the guy they want?

On the plus side it's a very deep QB class, but I feel like they've played themselves into a really tricky situation now. And it wouldn't really be terribly surprising if we got to this time next year and had Pittsburgh again signing a vet QB to a short-term deal and running it back yet again...

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Overall though it just feels like the Steelers as an organization are so absolutely opposed to having a "down" year that they would simply rather continue on with "bridge" QBs and just hope for the best.

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.

And let's just suppose Rodgers is willing to come back...how many of us would want to pay him 25m/yr to come be QB for a year?

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.

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.

 

[milani]

Yeah the Steelers are certainly known for their D - the Steel Curtain and the Terrible Towels. MM is all about offense. should be interesting. They do need a long-term solution at QB, just like all teams. But given the QBs on the roster now, bringing Rodgers back for one year makes the most sense. And he wants to play - good for him.

They were lucky with Big Ben just as we were with Rodgers.

 

[milani]

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.



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.

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 think this will be the swan song for Rodgers. Brady knew exactly when to wrap it up. And if he had not he still could outperform many starting QBs. I hope Rodgers can be satisfied with that.

 

[gopkrs]

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.



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.

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'd be willing to put money on there not being any drama in Pittsburgh this year with ARod. If you think there has already been drama then I think you are just looking for it.