The Pittsburgh Steelers are well into the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes. But that doesn’t mean he’s their only option at quarterback. Although the 21st overall pick makes it hard for them, the Steelers could still try and draft a QB this offseason. That could come in the first round or even as late as the third day of the draft. That said, Rodgers still presents Pittsburgh’s best chance to win now. There’s a decent chance the Steelers bring Rodgers in, yet also snag themselves a quarterback in the draft.
Brian Costello is a beat reporter covering the Jets for the New York Post. Speaking to Brian Batko on the Chipped Ham & Football podcast on Tuesday, Costello spoke about how Rodgers may feel about mentoring a younger QB.
“I do think he’d [Aaron Rodgers] embrace the mentor role for a young quarterback,” Costello said. “He did it with Jordan Love. Everyone says he was great with Jordan Love. He has scars from Brett Favre, how Brett Favre treated him. I don’t think he’ll ever do that again. I also think Aaron is smart enough to realize where he is in his career, in that, this is the end.”
The Packers take the exact opposite approach from the Steelers regarding replacing an aging franchise quarterback. As Rodgers approached the end of his time in Green Bay, the Packers had no problem bringing in Jordan Love as the heir to the throne. That worked out well, to say the least. Love has developed into a quality quarterback, and by all accounts, Rodgers was welcoming in his mentorship during their time together.
That’s a good example of things coming full circle, though. When Rodgers was drafted, he was the young guy, hoping to be mentored by Brett Favre. As Rodgers has spoken about in the past, and Costello alludes to here, Favre wasn’t much of a mentor at all. Rodgers had to learn a lot of things himself. He knows how it feels not to have that mentor and did a good job with Love. It makes a lot of sense to believe he’d mentor a rookie quarterback in Pittsburgh in 2025.
Aside from all of that, Costello thinks Rodgers understands the reality of his situation more than anything else.
“We asked him, ‘What if the Jets kept you?’,” Costello said. “‘What if they draft a quarterback?’ And he [Rodgers] was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine with it. ‘”
Some who don’t want Aaron Rodgers point to his treatment of his teammates in the past as a red flag. There are some instances to back that argument up. Last season, he was critical of Mike Williams shortly before Williams was traded to the Steelers.
However, Rodgers’s time with the Jets tells a different story. Although things didn’t go well in terms of results, he formed a good bond with the locker room. The Steelers also have a much more stable culture than New York. The chances of Rodgers having any of those issues feel slim.
Looking at the Steelers’ situation, Aaron Rodgers knows the writing is on the wall. This would be the swan song of his career. Given his treatment of younger QBs in the past, notably Jordan Love, there’s not much reason to doubt his willingness to mentor a younger player.
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