The aging vet is being viewed as the 2025 savior, but will he be?
Well, it is all over but the shouting, as it were. With the news that the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Aaron Rodgers, the long and arduous journey to land the future Hall of Fame quarterback has come to a merciful end. I, for one, am glad it has come to an end, but is it the end, or just the beginning?
Let's take a step back and dissect the path that led us to signing a quarterback who will be 42 years of age by season's end. It's no secret that the Justin Fields-Russell Wilson experiment was a complete disaster, as evidenced by the fact that neither quarterback will be a Steeler in 2025.
The aforementioned disaster falls squarely on the shoulders of Mike Tomlin. Full disclosure: I was not at all happy about signing either Fields or Wilson. Frankly, I thought letting Mason Rudolph walk last season in free agency was a mistake. We knew what we had in Rudolph, we chose not to re-sign him, only to re-sign him a year later. It doesn't make sense to me, but what do I know?
The Pittsburgh Steelers held out for Aaron Rodgers, but it is a sign of desperation
Congratulations to the Steelers for signing Rodgers, who put it off until the last possible minute. From my perspective, we allowed Rodgers to dictate the terms. That doesn't sit well with me. Look, I understand that Rodgers is a future Hall of Fame quarterback who can still sling the rock, so to speak, but he is over 40 years old now and didn't set the world on fire in 2024.
Putting his age aside. Is he even a good fit for the scheme that Arthur Smith runs? I would say no, he's not, for this one simple reason. Rodgers is a thrower of the football, meaning he likes to get the football down the field. Smith runs an Erhardt-Perkins type of offensive scheme, meaning it is a ball-control and throw-it-when-you-have-to type of scheme.
Could Smith alter the scheme to play to the strength of Rodgers? Of course, and I hope he does, but what happens if Rodgers gets injured? I am not wishing that upon him, of course, but the reality is this: our offensive line is a question mark. Who knows how many hits and sacks Rodgers will be able to absorb at his age? I doubt very many.
All of this comes down to one very simple and very plain thing, if you ask me: we are in desperation mode. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Art Rooney II was displeased with how the 2024 season ended. I was displeased with how the 2024 season ended. Every Steelers fan should have been displeased with how the 2024 season ended.
That disappointment has forced Tomlin into a corner. We need to win a playoff game in the worst way. The Rodgers signing is a clear act of a desperate organization. Like everything else we discuss, only time will tell if the signing was fruitful or feckless. I hope it's the former and not the latter, for everyone's sake.
