At 4-2, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still less than halfway through their 2025 season. That isn’t keeping fans and pundits from suggesting that Aaron Rodgers should return next year though. To this idea I say, “Look no further than last season.”
Justin Fields was also 4-2 after the first six games and there were many that believed Fields should have been the starter for the remainder of the season. Despite the fact he gave way to Russell Wilson, there were plenty of calls for Fields to return for the 2025 season. Considering the success of Aaron Rodgers and the struggles of Fields in New York, I think the Steelers made the right move.
This doesn’t mean that we should already be calling for Rodgers to return. After all, Russell Wilson was motivating many to say the same thing about him. On December 8th of last year, Wilson had the Steelers at 10-3. They were coming off a huge offensive performance in a win over Cincinnati and a solid victory over Cleveland. The calls for Wilson to return in 2025 reached their peak heading into the Eagles’ game and that’s exactly where they started going in the other direction.
Wilson and the Steelers wouldn’t win another game. The veteran signal-caller would not be welcomed back to the Steel City and is now riding the pine for the Giants. Therefore, these calls for the Steelers to go ahead and decide to bring Rodgers back after just six games are ridiculously premature.
You will get no argument from me that Rodgers has been well above average. He’s third in the NFL in touchdown passes and is completing just under 70% of his passes. His command of the offense has been a huge reason for the offense being so much better than it was in 2024. But still, patience must be practiced.
The Steelers still face several teams with winning records, the Ravens twice and the Browns and Bengals one more time each. Rodgers returning in 2026 may actually hinder more on what the Steelers’ defense can do to turn things around rather than anything he does.
So yes, I fully admit that Rodgers has been a great addition. But I also have no problem moving forward with tremendous caution. Not learning from the recent past would be a huge mistake.
