It’s about time. Aaron Rodgers inevitably agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Steelers following a long, drawn-out saga.
The Steelers almost appeared desperate as they waited an inordinate amount of time as the quarterback carousel churned, leaving Pittsburgh as the only viable option.
When Mason Rudolph was quarterback No. 1 on the depth chart, maybe desperation was warranted.
“There is no drop-dead date specifically in my mind, no,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters at the NFL owners meeting.
Rodgers will reportedly fly to Pittsburgh on Friday and sign before the Steelers begin mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
I’m not sure we can call Rodgers’ pursuit a sweepstakes. Rodgers was the last big-name quarterback domino to fall. The 2025 NFL Draft came and went. The Steelers passed on multiple rookie quarterbacks, including Shedeur Sanders, before settling on Will Howard in the sixth round.
But are the Steelery a better team with a 41-year-old Rodgers, who will turn 42 in December?
Rodgers completed 63% of his passes, averaged 229 passing yards per game and had a 90.5 passer rating in his final season with the New York Jets. His statistics are comparable to Russell Wilson’s 63.7% completion percentage, 225 passing yards per game and 95.6 passer rating in one year in the Steel City.
Furthermore, there’s also the factor that Wilson had a 6-5 regular season record as a Steelers starter and helped lead the club into the playoffs. Compared to Rodgers, who went 5-12 as a starter in a disastrous year in the Big Apple.
Still, the Steelers were comfortable letting Wilson walk in free agency as they awaited Rodgers’ decision. All the while, Rodgers’ former team replaced him with former Steelers backup quarterback Justin Fields.
Ditch the quarterback carousel. It’s quarterback musical chairs.
The acquisition of Rodgers doesn’t make the Steelers better if he performs at a level similar to last year. Father Time tells us we should anticipate a decline in his performance.
He completed just 45% of his passes when under pressure and was held to a 62% completion rate when blitzed last season, according to Pro Football Focus. His low completion percentage under duress can be attributed to decreased mobility commonly associated with advancing age in athletes, in addition to his Achilles injury, which limited Rodgers to only four snaps in 2023.
Rodgers did perform better during his final five games in New York. The five-game stretch included his only 300-yard passing effort, nine touchdowns to just three interceptions and a 91-or-above passer rating in four of the contests. However, the Jets lost three of their final five games.
The 41-year-old quarterback showed he can still play in the NFL, but does he make the Steelers any better than the back-to-back AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens? Or a Cincinnati Bengals club that should be improved in the aftermath of a disappointing 2024? Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow haven’t even hit the age of 30 yet.
This year will reveal whether the Steelers mismanaged the draft by not prioritizing the quarterback position.
Pittsburgh hasn’t rostered a franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season. The version of Rodgers the Steelers are getting will likely serve as a bridge quarterback.
While Rodgers might help keep Mike Tomlin’s streak of consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career intact, he is not the long-term solution at quarterback. In fact, he may not even be an improvement over the two quarterbacks Pittsburgh had last season.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.