How many wins is Aaron Rodgers worth to the Steelers in 2025?
According to Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers would win four more games with Aaron Rodgers than without. Is he in the right ballpark? On his Footbahlin podcast, he worked through the Steelers’ schedule game by game. In a separate tally for with and without Rodgers, he had the team finishing 11-6 and 7-10, respectively.
Now, if Aaron Rodgers is the difference in four Steelers wins, then he is probably worth the wait. That’s a big swing, and the difference between competing and preparing for next season. But whether he can deliver that kind of play at this point in his career is entirely unknown.
Certainly, the Aaron Rodgers of 2024 wasn’t a plus-four wins factor for a Jets team that finished 5-11. The Steelers finished 10-6 last season without Rodgers, including Russell Wilson finishing 6-5. But there are simply too many unknowns involved, the most important being whether we should trust last season’s performance.
The Steelers clearly do not, or they wouldn’t be wasting time waiting for Aaron Rodgers. While he is a shoo-in for a spot in the Hall of Fame, that doesn’t mean he will play at that level now. But they obviously think he can help them win some games this year; the question is, how many?
We can’t even begin to answer that question without exploring the alternative options. Minus Rodgers, the Steelers’ quarterbacks are Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and rookie Will Howard. While Howard will eventually overtake Tom Brady as the greatest sixth-round pick in NFL history, he will not play this season, in all likelihood, at least not by intention, as the clear starter of the current group is Mason Rudolph.
So, what the premise really is, is how many more games will Aaron Rodgers win for the Steelers than Rudolph? Ben Roethlisberger’s answer is four, but that is a pretty high number. Of course, it’s not just about how many games a quarterback might win for a team, but also how many he might lose. Presumably, Rodgers is better equipped to handle a shootout against an elite quarterback. At least, he used to be. The problem is we don’t know if he still can. But we do know that Rudolph never has, and that’s part of the equation, too.
The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers isthe quarterback question. While they ultimately traded George Pickens, they have other decisions to make. The2025 NFL Draft class is now behind us, so most of the roster construction is complete.
But we still have a long offseason ahead for Steelers football, or football in shorts. Certain will-he-or-won’t-he situations remain in play, which we continue to monitor. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go.
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