GREEN BAY, Wis. – The last big domino in the NFL quarterback carousel is about to fall, with former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expected to land with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I'd say we feel pretty good about it at this point,” Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II said at the NFL owners meetings. That Rodgers got together with new Steelers receiver DK Metcalf was a “good sign,” Rooney said.
That would set up a Rodgers vs. Jordan Love showdown in Pittsburgh. It would be another marquee quarterback matchup for the Packers. In home games alone, the Packers are scheduled to face the Lions’ Jared Goff, the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels. Jackson was first in passer rating, Goff was second, Burrow was third and Hurts was fifth.
Following other quarterback changes this offseason, here are this year’s quarterback matchups.
Chicago Bears
There are no quarterback changes in Chicago, with last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, back for Year 2. The change is at the top, with highly regarded Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson taking over as head coach. The change is also in front, with three veteran offensive linemen added to fix the Bears’ league-worst pass protection. Williams was sacked 68 times, 16 more than any other quarterback.
Of 32 quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks, Williams’ 87.8 passer rating ranked 23rd. Over his final 11 games, he threw just one interception. Two of his best five games in terms of completion percentage came against Green Bay, which sacked him only once in the Week 18 upset.
Detroit Lions
There are no changes in Detroit, either, with Jared Goff returning for Year 5 with the Lions after finishing fifth in the MVP race in 2024. Goff finished second in passer rating (111.8), completion percentage (72.4), yards (4,629) and yards per attempt (8.6) to help the Lions overcome a rash of injuries on defense to finish with the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The big change is who’s directing the passing game, with esteemed offensive coordinator Ben Johnson now the head coach of the rival Bears.
Goff is 6-1 in his last seven starts against the Packers. He completed 79.4 percent of his passes against them last year.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) makes a pass against Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (58).
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws a pass against Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (58). / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Minnesota Vikings
There’s a big change in Minnesota, with Sam Darnold parlaying one sensational season with the Vikings into a big contract with the Seahawks. J.J. McCarthy, the 10th pick of last year’s draft who missed his rookie season with a knee injury, is expected to take over. McCarthy led Michigan to the national title in 2023 and finished his career with a 27-1 record with 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The Packers won’t miss Darnold. In two games last year, he threw for 652 yards and six touchdowns. He finished the season with 35 touchdown passes vs. 12 interceptions and finished sixth with a 102.5 passer rating. Prior to that, the 2018 first-round pick threw 53 touchdown passes vs. 46 interceptions.
Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick of the 2019 draft, is back for Year 7. After missing 18 games the previous three seasons, Murray started all 17 games last year. He completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 3,851 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He finished 16th with a 93.5 passer rating. Of course, passing is half the battle with Murray. He rushed for 572 yards with a 7.3 average.
At Lambeau last year, rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. missed most of the game. Murray completed 68.8 percent of his passes but for only 214 yards as Green Bay cruised to a 34-13 win.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) passes the ball against the Green Bay Packers last season.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) passes the ball against the Green Bay Packers last season. / Tork Mason/USA Today / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cleveland Browns
At this point, the Packers would face Kenny Pickett or a rookie. Embattled starter Deshaun Watson re-ruptured his Achilles tendon, meaning there’s a good chance he will miss the entire season. With Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe no longer with the team, the only healthy quarterback on the roster is Kenny Pickett.
A first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022, Pickett went 7-5 in 12 starts as a rookie and 7-5 again in 2023. With the Eagles last season, he won his only start. In 30 career games, he’s thrown for 4,765 yards with 15 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 79.3 rating.
It’s possible the Falcons will trade veteran Kirk Cousins, and the Browns are considered a prime contender. Benched in favor of rookie Michael Penix last year, Cousins was 10th in completion percentage but 20th with an 88.6 passer rating. Cousins, who will turn 37 during training camp, suffered a torn Achilles at Lambeau Field while with the Vikings in 2023. He is a four-time Pro Bowler who ranks sixth all-time in completion percentage.
Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million contract extension in September but missed half the season with a hamstring injury that required surgery. In 2023, Prescott was runner-up for NFL MVP after throwing for 4,516 yards and an NFL-high 36 touchdowns with a career-high 105.9 passer rating. In eight games in 2024, he threw 11 touchdown passes and eight interceptions for a career-worst 86.0 rating, which ranked 25th.
In the 2023 playoffs against Green Bay, Prescott threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns, but it was a lot of fluff as the Packers rolled to a 48-32 win. He also threw for 463 yards against Gren Bay in 2019.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws the ball against the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card playoff game.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws the ball against the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card playoff game. / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Denver Broncos
Bo Nix, the 12th pick of the 2024 draft, finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. He led the Broncos to the playoffs with a 10-7 record as he completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 3,775 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He finished 18th with a 93.3 passer rating.
Talking about growing on the fly: In Nix’s first three starts, he threw zero touchdowns and four interceptions. In his fourth start, he threw for 60 yards. In his final three starts of the regular season, he recorded ratings of 106.6, 114.9 and 152.4 with a combined nine touchdowns and one interception.
New York Giants
The Giants, who admitted defeat with Daniel Jones last season, signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to compete for the starting job in 2025. Presumably, a rookie will be thrown into the mix.
With the Steelers last season, Wilson finished 14th with a 95.6 passer rating but became a 10-time Pro Bowler. Wilson, who is 36, went 6-5 as the starter. He threw for 2,482 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, and was third in passer rating on deep passes. He hasn’t thrown for 3,600 yards, let alone 4,000, since 2020. He’s clutch, though; in 2023 with Denver, he led the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks.
With the Browns last season, Winston finished 31st with an 80.6 passer rating. The first overall pick of the 2015 draft, Winston is a rollercoaster of good and terrible. In 2024, he started seven games and threw 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions; his 4.1 percent interception rate was the worst in the NFL. He is 36-51 as a starter with 154 touchdowns and 111 interceptions.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh parted ways with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and presumably will sign Aaron Rodgers whenever it strikes Rodgers’ fancy.
The four-time MVP returned from the torn Achilles that sabotaged his debut season with the Jets to throw for 3,897 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He moved up to fifth all-time with 503 touchdown passes. But he finished 20th with a 90.5 passer rating – the worst of his career – and led the Jets to a 5-12 record. According to PFF, Rodgers was victimized by the second-highest drop percentage.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) scrambles for a touchdown against the Steelers' T.J. Watt
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) scrambles for a touchdown against the Steelers' T.J. Watt / William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Packers coach Matt LaFleur downplayed a potential matchup against Rodgers. Speaking to reporters at the NFL owners meetings on Tuesday, he said: “There’s great players on every team, so if it works out, it works out. It’s not something that I’m going to sit there and constantly think about. Sure, you think about it the week of when you’re playing somebody. But if it works out, great for them.”
The Steelers are in no hurry. OTAs are about teaching, coach Mike Tomlin said.
“Certainly, training camp would kind of be a line of demarcation in terms of that discussion. This spring is about teaching and learning,” Tomlin told reporters.
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson is coming off another sensational season. While he was the first-team All-Pro quarterback, he had to settle for MVP runner-up after winning the award in 2023.
Jackson set career highs with 4,172 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, 8.8 yards per attempts and a 119.6 passer rating. He threw for a preposterous 41 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he was No. 1 in passer rating on deep passes. Plus, he rushed for 915 yards (6.6 average) and four touchdowns. He is the NFL’s career leader with 6.1 yards per carry.
The Packers have never faced Jackson.
Carolina Panthers
The first pick of the 2023 draft, Bryce Young finished last in the NFL with a 73.7 passer rating as a rookie and was 28th in 2024 with an 81.4 rating. He is 6-22 as a starter.
However, during the last three games of the regular season, he had ratings of 107.5 against the Cardinals, 100.7 against the Buccaneers and 123.5 against the Falcons with a combined seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Young’s only 300-yard game came against the Packers in 2023, when he threw for 312 yards with a 110.0 rating in a 33-30 loss.
Cincinnati Bengals
The first pick of the 2020 draft, Joe Burrow has established himself as one of the elite players in the game. In 2024, he led the NFL with 460 completions, 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, and he is the NFL’s all-time leader with a 68.6 completion percentage. His 108.5 passer rating railed only Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff. The Bengals missed the playoffs with a 9-8 but they allowed at least 34 points in six of the losses.
He's surrounded by an elite group of skill players, with the Bengals re-signing or extending receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki this offseason.
The Packers have faced him once, winning 25-22 in overtime in 2019 in a wild game filled with one missed field goal after another. Burrow threw for 281 yards with two touchdowns but two interceptions.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow fires a pass against the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow fires a pass against the Green Bay Packers in 2021. / Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Philadelphia Eagles
Tush Push or no Tush Push, the Packers will get another crack at Jalen Hurts, who was part of the Eagles’ victories over Green Bay in Week 1 and in the playoffs. Hurts was 13-of-21 for 131 yards and two touchdowns (111.4 rating) in the playoff game and 20-of-34 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions (80.3 rating) in Week 1. In 2022 at Philadelphia, the game when Jordan Love replaced injured Aaron Rodgers, Hurts threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 157 yards.
Hurts in 2024 finished fifth in the NFL with a career-high 103.7 passer rating. He’s got two big-time receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, a premier tight end in Dallas Goedert and a dominant offensive line. Hurts is double trouble, with four consecutive seasons of 600-plus rushing yards and 10-plus rushing touchdowns.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) rushes the ball against Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) rushes the ball against Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Washington Commanders
Is Jayden Daniels the next big thing? The No. 2 overall pick of the 2024 draft, Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year and was seventh in MVP voting. In 17 starts, he threw for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He ranked sixth with a completion percentage of 69.0 and 10th with a 100.1 passer rating.
He’s an elite runner, too, with 891 yards (6.0 average) and six touchdowns. He literally was unstoppable as a runner on third- and fourth-and-1, going a league-best 12-of-12.
In 2023, the Commanders finished 4-13. In 2024, they went 12-5 and won two playoff games, with Daniels destroying the Buccaneers and Lions for 654 total yards before losing in the NFC title game.