Aaron Rodgers is signed, sealed, and about to be delivered. To Steelers minicamp. Where football in shorts is mandatory.
Even for those who have won three more NFL MVP awards than Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger combined.
Anyone who had Aaron Rodgers throwing to DK Metcalf at Acrisure Stadium this season, take a bow. And a lie detector test.
This is that seismic for the heretofore Staid Old Steelers.
Imagine telling a Steelers' fan two years ago Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf would be in a golf cart one day before reporting to Pittsburgh's minicamp. https://t.co/kEOeTEHtbj
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) June 9, 2025
What makes it all so compelling is that no one has any idea how it will turn out. Rodgers could stick it to the Jets (looking at you, Aaron Glenn), and not just in Week 1. Or he could be a 41-year-old QB who crashes, burns and drags his ass to Antarctica just because.
The reality is that in early June, one of the best players ever to spin a football is not much more than a lottery ticket for players like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The pillars of the Steelers’ defense are all getting older in a young man’s game. Meanwhile, the Steelers are trying to figure out what the hell to do at quarterback between Ben Roethlisberger podcasts and Will Howard making the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Put the two together, and they had to sign Rodgers. No matter how long the wait. Time will tell whether the Steelers simply traded Russell Wilson’s relentless positivity for Aaron Rodgers’ eccentricities. And another beatdown in the first round of the playoffs, assuming they get there.
The thing is, the union that is the definition of a convenient marriage just might work.
Rodgers will be a future first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, but his Jets tenure went over in New York about as well as a Red Sox hat. He will be motivated as ever to close his storied career on his terms.
The Steelers are similarly motivated to get out of a “rut” that some teams would gladly take, but it is not acceptable when you have six gleaming Lombardi Trophies displayed on the second floor of your practice facility.
Unlikely as it is, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers need each other more than ever. And they will do everything to try to win together. That means give and take – and hopefully an offense that is more than just a plodding Najee Harris and Russell Wilson moon shots.
Granted, we are still more than six weeks from the start of training camp, where the players will put on the pads. However, the Steelers seem to have the infrastructure in place to support a four-time league MVP who can still sling it, but whose mobility is shot.
Their offensive line has a chance to be anywhere from sneaky good to really good. Their running game should have more juice this season, not to mention the personnel to let OC Arthur Smith cook.
Rodgers will utilize the quick-passing game and the middle of the field. At least way more than Wilson or Justin Fields did.
Even if the offense is significantly better in 2025, the defense must do its part. Probably then some too if the Steelers want to win their first playoff game since 2016.
There are ifs. A lot of them at a time of the year when even the Browns are undefeated. Rodgers and the Steelers will be reality TV at its best. The other thing we know for sure? You can’t win the lottery unless you buy a ticket.
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