Aaron Rodgers is back with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the NFL staff at the Worldwide Leader in Sports is not a fan. After Ben Solak criticized the Steelers for not looking at other options, his colleague Seth Walder did the same in giving the Steelers a C grade for bringing back Rodgers.
“Malik Willis is the misstep. He would have given Pittsburgh an upside that Rodgers can’t anymore, even if he has a lower downside. I’ve written previously about why I was bullish on a team giving Willis a chance,” Walder wrote.
He added that Rodgers finished 23rd in QBR last season and hasn’t finished in the top 20 in that metric in his last three full seasons. Additionally, he dinged the Steelers for the extra cost on Rodgers’ contract after he played for just over $14 million last season. Rodgers’ reported contract is still below market value though, and the C for the deal feels more rooted in what the Steelers didn’t do rather than what they did do.
Walder does lay out that this was a rough offseason for making a quarterback move, and outside of Willis, he wrote that other quarterback moves would’ve been a roll of the dice. Willis doesn’t have a lot of starting experience and would’ve been a risk too, but Walder is a fan of his upside.
The Steelers know what Rodgers is and what he can do. They made the playoffs with him under center last season, and while it wasn’t all pretty, he was the team’s best option to start with, given their desire to compete this season. It’s a fair grade from Walder, but there wasn’t really ever a scenario where the Steelers made a player for Willis, or really any other quarterback, outside of a hard no from Rodgers.
Whether that’s the correct process or not is a different conversation, but the Steelers wanted Rodgers back, and ultimately, he decided he wanted to come back. Reuniting with Mike McCarthy gives a sense of familiarity even with the coaching staff turned over, and Rodgers also will have another chance to mentor Will Howard while adding Drew Allar to the quarterback room.
If the Steelers make the playoffs again with Rodgers under center, the signing will outperform the C grade. But winning a playoff game has to be the goal this year, not just making it into the dance. Whether the Steelers do that will be the ultimate indicator of success in the Rodgers era.
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