Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers finally agreed to a pact last week after months of back-and-forth. The Steelers finally have their quarterback for 2025, but turns out, despite the long offseason drama, Rodgers wasn't the first or even second choice for Pittsburgh.
ESPN's Adam Schefter laid out the Steelers' gameplan from this offseason, and Rodgers was not at the top of the list.
"This was the best move that the Pittsburgh Steelers could make right now," Schefter said on ESPN's Get Up. "But let's also remember that this was the third option for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were in on Matthew Stafford and couldn't get done a trade. They tried to re-sign Justin Fields. He opted to go to the New York Jets where he will meet Aaron Rodgers on opening day, and after they couldn't get a trade done for Stafford and couldn't get Fields resigned, they pivoted to Aaron Rodgers."
The Steelers had their eyes on a different Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Matthew Stafford. Stafford is entering the first year of a two-year, $84 million contract in Los Angeles.
Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, completing 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. In his storied 16-year NFL career, Stafford has completed 5,174 passes for 59,809 yards and 377 touchdowns. Stafford is top-10 all time in completions, yards and touchdowns.
Stafford threw for 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns, completing 65.8 percent of his passes in 2024. It's not clear the Rams would have entertained a Stafford trade. Schefter's report does indicate at the very least talks were had, but nothing could get done.
At 41, Rodgers is even more past his prime than the 37-year old Stafford. Rodgers is coming off of a 5-12 campaign with the New York Jets, where he threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns. Rodgers comes with a lot more controversy than Stafford. Rodgers has been a headline machine over the past few years, especially after his tumultuous Jets' tenure.
It's clear the Steelers wanted to grab a veteran stop-gap for 2025. Pittsburgh drafted Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Whether or not Howard is the quarterback of the future remains to be seen, but Rodgers probably doesn't have much time left in the NFL.
