The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of few NFL teams still searching for clarity at the quarterback position right now, and they're hoping Aaron Rodgers will fill that void for the 2025 campaign. Rodgers might not be the MVP-caliber player he once was or even close to it, but he is, by virtually any metric, the best option still out there.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh, Rodgers seems to be more interested in joining the Steelers than any other team that might be vying for his services.
The problem, though, is that while there is mutual interest, the financials appear to be off based on what Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had to say.
It’s possible Russell Wilson could return to the Steelers if ongoing discussions with Aaron Rodgers fail to result in a financial agreement, per multiple sources.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 11, 2025
Rodgers and the Steelers are so far apart financially right now to the point where a Russell Wilson reunion might actually be realistic. The way Pittsburgh is handling these negotiations could end up backfiring in a big way.
Steelers risky games with Aaron Rodgers could cost them in big way
It isn't hard to see why the Steelers would like to get Rodgers at a price they deem to be fair. In addition to his documented off-field distractions, Rodgers is simply not close to the player he once was. He wasn't awful in 2024 for the Jets, but he had less than 4,000 passing yards and threw 11 interceptions despite having Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams to throw to for much of the year. Rodgers also looked like a 41-year-old athletically and is not far removed from an Achilles tear.
With all of that being said, though, Rodgers is the best option available, even with his shortcomings in mind, giving him just about all of the leverage. Sure, the Steelers can run things back with Russell Wilson, but is that supposed to scare Rodgers into signing a lesser deal than he believes he can get? The Steelers did not have close to a Super Bowl-caliber offense with Wilson leading the way, and things only got worse as the season progressed. Signing Wilson over Rodgers likely won't make the team any better, it would only be cheaper.
Even if the Steelers are fine going the Wilson route, who's to say Wilson even wants to return? I mean, the Steelers pretty clearly prefer Rodgers as long as he's willing to sign a deal the team deems to be acceptable. Wilson guided his team to the playoffs, he might feel offended by that preference, and he might even just get impatient and sign a deal before the Steelers come to a decision with Rodgers.
As long as the Steelers continue to nickel and dime Rodgers, the door is open for the team to get neither quarterback, making it even tougher for them to be legitimate Super Bowl threats in 2025. Wouldn't that be something?