Cameron Heyward will be 36 years old. He and Chris Boswell, who is 34 years old, are the only guys on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster who have ever won a postseason game in the Black and Gold. There are other guys like Isaac Seumalo who won playoff games with other teams but only Heyward and Bos know what it’s like in Pittsburgh. They aren’t alone however in their desires as T.J. Watt who will be 31 this year and Minkah Fitzpatrick who will be 29 would love to taste postseason success as Steelers. The question I have is this; Do the Steelers owe it to these men to put the best product they can on the field or is it better for the future if the team struggles in 2025?
The epicenter of the answer to that question is seemingly tied to Aaron Rodgers. He will turn 42 in December yet you’d have a difficult time finding anyone who believes the former MVP isn’t the Steelers’ best option. Is his presence necessary for the Steelers to finally get over the playoff hump or can Mason Rudolph accomplish the same thing?
Optics are important. To many, they view Rodgers as the guy most likely to lead the team to that elusive postseason win. His resume is impressive. It’s far better than that of anyone else available to the Steelers but I do wonder about just why they want him to come here. Is it because they truly believe he can get them over the hump or is it because of… optics. In other words, if they sign Rodgers then they can say without hesitation that they were trying to put the best team out there that they could. They were trying to give Heyward and Watt and the others hope. That’s not a bad thing I suppose but when you’re also trying to position yourself for a chance at a franchise quarterback… Isn’t that a bit counterproductive?
This isn’t about tanking – the word isn’t in Mike Tomlin’s vocabulary – it’s about how best to set the franchise up for the future. Maybe it’s “soft tanking” then? Perhaps you do everything you can to create the image that you’re trying to win yet if you lose? “Aw shucks,” but at least that’s one less draft spot you have to trade up right?
