As eras go, it has been incredibly short and won’t get much longer. Aaron Rodgers has played one season in Pittsburgh and could add another but I’m arguing that it needs to end now. As fans, we have been led to believe many things about Rodgers and his future in the Steel City but as it turns out, none of those things appear to be accurate.
We have to be honest with ourselves just as the Steelers’ Front Office needs to face some realities as well. What does Rodgers coming back really do for this team? More importantly, what does him coming back do for this franchise? Rodgers came to Pittsburgh for a couple of reasons. He wanted to keep playing… Minnesota told him “no” and he wanted to play for Mike Tomlin. Well, Tomlin is going to be at NBC now and while Mike McCarthy is the head coach that helped Rodgers to his only Super Bowl, that doesn’t really do much to inspire at this juncture.
The Reality
The Steelers were literally a missed Baltimore field goal away from missing the postseason. Would we even be having this conversation had they been sent packing immediately after week 18? The kick was wide however and Rodgers led the Steelers into a home playoff game where they were throttled by visiting Houston 30-6. That should have ended things right there. It wasn’t as if Rodgers threw for 320 yards and three scores in the loss. He didn’t even get to the 200 yard mark, threw a pick, was sacked four times and fumbled the ball twice losing one.
Yet here we are once again one year removed from the “waiting game” that Rodgers put the team and fan base through and little has changed in regards to Rodgers. The head coach is gone and the offensive talent seems to be improved yet Rodgers is playing the waiting game for a second straight year. The Steelers and Art Rooney II led us to believe that Rodgers was coming back. At a couple of different moments during this Off-Season we were told there wouldn’t be a repeat of last year but here we are.
The decision this week to use the free agent tender on Rodgers has suggested a couple of things. One, they appear concerned he’s going to go elsewhere and would like to grab comp pick (likely a fourth) in return. They also appear to know very little about his intentions which flies in the face of just about everything that’s been hinted to us. Or perhaps this tender was a way to tell Rodgers that it’s time to decide one way or another simply based on the guidelines of the practice.
There is much that irritates me about this entire saga. The Steelers have acted as if Rodgers in his prime. They portray themselves as the shy boy waiting for the homecoming queen to finally acknowledge their existence. My ultimate question is this; what will the Steelers really gain by bringing him back? Another 10-7 season followed by a first round exit does nothing for this franchise. It’s literally the definition of insanity.
Move Forward
Therefore, it’s time to roll with Will Howard and Drew Allar. If the Steelers go 5-12 then so be it. They are in better position to draft their “QB of the future” and they will have been able to evaluate both Howard and Allar. We already know what Mason Rudolph brings so that isn’t a concern of mine. Mike McCarthy wouldn’t be in any trouble because after all, he’d be working with what essentially amounts to two rookie quarterbacks.
But what if one of them really exceeds expectations and gets the team to 9-8 let’s say. Now McCarthy looks even better, you may have found a competent QB and it doesn’t exclude you from drafting one in 2027. Bringing Rodgers back does nothing for this franchise other than set it back another year. That’s exactly what has been going on since Ben Roethlisberger left and it needs to stop. The organization cannot be afraid of a losing season. Both New England and Seattle suffered that fate and it turned out OK for them didn’t it?
Art Rooney II needs to stop with the niceties and tell Rodgers the team is moving on. Continuing down this road only makes him and organization look foolish and desperate once again.
