The Pittsburgh Steelers built themselves a formidable defense with some of the best players in the league at their respective positions. The only problem was that they peaked as a unit just as the team entered quarterback purgatory after Ben Roethlisberger’s career was over. After the failed Russell Wilson experiment last season, the outlook was bleak for the core of defensive stars to ever have a chance in the playoffs. With Aaron Rodgers reportedly set to sign, that gives them one final glimmer of hope.
“They have a 31-year-old T.J. Watt. They have Minkah Fitzpatrick turning 29. They have DK Metcalf on his third contract. They’ve got Cam Heyward at the very end of his career. This is a team that’s leveraged and built to win right now. They were always, always, always, always a team that was gonna be lined up to take a home-run swing. And that is what this is,” SI.com’s Albert Breer said in a [reaction clip on X](https://x.com/AlbertBreer/status/1930722532891468261). “This was not a team in position to just wanna hit a single or wanna hit a double…This is a swing for the fences.”
The Steelers could have brought back Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. They could have pivoted to Kirk Cousins after waiting multiple months for Rodgers. But those moves wouldn’t have maximized their chance to win _right now.
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There is a reason the team was reportedly linked to quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford earlier in the process. They were looking for somebody with legitimate Super Bowl pedigree to give them a chance. As Ian Rapoport recently stated, it feels like the Steelers are [“loading up” for one final push](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/06/rapoport-believes-steelers-are-loading-up-to-make-one-more-run/).
“For T.J. Watt, for Minkah Fitzpatrick, for Cam Heyward, for DK Metcalf, this is a Godsend and Aaron Rodgers should fit pretty well into what they’re building there in Pittsburgh,” Breer said.
The Steelers made the playoffs last season on a 10-7 record, and there is a strong argument to be made that they’ve improved at every position group. The offense in particular is set up to support Rodgers with the addition of Metcalf, the development of the offensive line, and the drafting of RB Kaleb Johnson in the 2025 NFL Draft.
I would guess they now make one final push to sign a wide receiver ahead of training camp, whether that is Rodgers’ former teammate Allen Lazard, Gabe Davis or Jonnu Smith. Each has received some buzz in the rumor mill for Pittsburgh.
With every swing for the fences, the Steelers could just as easily strike out. But they’d rather go down swinging.