Aaron Rodgers. Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ll call it “Enigma: the Encore.”
It seems unlikely that the 41-year-old quarterback will return to the Jets next year. The black and gold of the Steelers may be a better fit for the future Hall of Famer.
“I think we have seen Russell Wilson hit a wall, and whether [head coach] Mike Tomlin is even thinking about it…” NFL insider Peter King said during a recent episode of the “Let’s Go” podcast.
“If I were the Pittsburgh Steelers, knowing that I’ve got Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt — I got guys on defense with their expiration dates not long in the future — I would want to come in and try to get a quarterback who could make me competitive with Baltimore and Cincinnati in 2025. And that guy, to me, is Aaron Rodgers.”
Crazier things have happened, New York football fans can attest.
And Rodgers to the Steelers isn’t so difficult to imagine considering Russell Wilson’s spectacular implosion in the dying weeks of the regular season.
Pittsburgh shot out of the gate in 2024 — winning 10 of its first 13 contests — and, for a moment there, the Steel City had “Super Bowl dreams.”
But that moment is long gone and the Steelers’ awakening has been a rude one. Tomlin’s squad hasn’t won since Week 14 and is now staring down the barrel at Lamar Jackson and a Baltimore Ravens team that has only lost twice since the calendar flipped to November.
If the Steelers lose their next one, the wild-card matchup Saturday, the Wilson experiment may be all but over.
Is Justin Fields, then, the answer under center?
The 25-year-old signal caller led the Steelers to a 4-2 start before Wilson reclaimed the starting job, but even if you stacked Wilson on top of Fields’ shoulders and draped an oversized jersey atop them both, the duo wouldn’t hold a candle to Aaron Rodgers — at least the version Packers’ fans know.
Rodgers reputation precedes him: Super Bowl Champion, 10-time Pro Bowler, four-time MVP, recent inductee to the 500-touchdown club, the list goes on.
He’s under contract with the Jets through 2025, though that counts for less and less these days.
And his admiration of Mike Tomlin is no secret.
Crazier things have happened.
