Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers hasn’t looked like his four-time MVP self in a few years. That has troubled many people, including former NFL DE Chris Canty. With Rodgers turning 42 years old in December, can he still be an effective NFL quarterback?
The Steelers believe so. They think their combination of an elite defense and a hopefully strong running game will take pressure off Rodgers. That would allow him to only have to make throws some of the time, rather than carrying the team on his back. But that thought leaves people with a lot of questions. So much so that on Thursday’s episode of First Take, the crew offered thoughts on which AFC North team has more questions: The Cincinnati Bengals or the Steelers.
And for Canty, the answer is the Steelers.
“It ain’t that close,” Canty said. “It’s because I don’t believe in the quarterback, I just don’t. They pin the regression of Aaron Rodgers on injuries that he’s suffered over the last three years. Whether it’s injury or whether it’s age, it doesn’t really matter. Here’s the thing: As players get older, they don’t get healthier. So, I don’t understand why everyone is falling into the hoax that is Aaron Rodgers year after year…
“When it comes to the Rodgers of it all, I fail to see how he is going to raise the floor from what we’ve seen from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the last half-decade. Having experience don’t mean a damn thing if you physically can’t go out there and do the job. And that’s what I’m concerned about with Aaron Rodgers for 17 games in the regular season.”
As much as it may pain Steelers fans to say, Canty has a point. As people age, they are more susceptible to injury. And when they get injured, it takes longer to recover from those injuries. Aaron Rodgers is the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL. That’s even after the Cleveland Browns named Joe Flacco their Week 1 starter. In age, Rodgers has him beat by over a year.
So yes, Rodgers’ four MVPs and four First-Team All-Pro berths don’t mean anything if he’s sidelined with an injury. But there is a major difference between the Aaron Rodgers of 2025 with the Steelers and the Rodgers of the last two years with the New York Jets. The Steelers didn’t bring Rodgers in to completely overhaul the team. They brought him in so he could step into a solid situation and elevate the team.
Canty doesn’t believe that Rodgers will be able to do that. He believes that Rodgers has head coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers organization hoodwinked. But Tomlin and the Steelers have proven they can get to the playoffs with subpar quarterback play since the very end of Ben Roethlisberger’s tenure with the team. The Steelers don’t need Rodgers to be back at the MVP level of yesteryear to have a successful season. Even if former Steelers WR Ryan Switzer believes Tomlin will elevate Rodgers back to that level.
The Steelers just need Aaron Rodgers to make the plays when they need him to. And based on training camp, it certainly appears that Rodgers still has the arm to do that. Mike Tomlin certainly believes Rodgers can still be an elite quarterback, thanks to his football IQ and arm. Either Rodgers has hoaxed Tomlin, or Canty is wrong. Only time will tell.
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