Player: QB Aaron Rodgers
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: All things considered, this has been a good offseason for Aaron Rodgers. He’s looked good, and he has more help now. Oh, and he has the old band back together, helmed by Mike McCarthy. For one final run, I don’t think he could have asked for a whole lot more. That doesn’t mean it will actually work out, but this is as all-in as the Steelers could manage.
While the Steelers didn’t retain Kenneth Gainwell, of whom Aaron Rodgers was quite a fan, they got their quarterback about everything else he might have wanted. And it’s not as though they left the backfield untouched. They signed Rico Dowdle, coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. To that they added Eli Heidenreich, an intriguing player with great athleticism. And we already know he is a fan of Jaylen Warren’s run-after-the-catch ability.
Surely Rodgers is also a fan of the moves the Steelers made at wide receiver. They cleaned out the room short of DK Metcalf and Roman Wilson, trading for veteran starter Michael Pittman Jr. And I suspect he will be a big fan of Germie Bernard, their rookie second-round draft pick. He should contribute sooner rather than later, at least if all the talk about him is to be believed.
Speaking of talk, which is always the case with Aaron Rodgers, there’s been a lot of it. And some of that talk even mentioned how Rodgers looked on the practice field. Unlike last year, he signed just ahead of OTAs, and he participated pretty liberally during the spring. By all accounts, he still looked like, at least, the same player he was last year. And that’s all you could ask for at this stage of the game.
The one concern is whether the offensive line, minus Isaac Seumalo and likely Broderick Jones, will take a step back rather than forward this year. There is the potential to go in either direction, frankly. The left side may blossom, but the right side is at risk of busting.
With the 2026 offseason well underway and many moves made, we have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, the Steelers are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, the Steelers showed the ability to win the division and make the playoffs. But they also showed that their progress was minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the AFC North. But it didn’t help.
Recommended for you