Steelers Now
Dan Graziano of ESPN sounded off on the Pittsburgh Steelers for bringing back 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers for another season. He thinks the Steelers have completely mismanaged the quarterback position since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season.
“It’s been 10 years since the Steelers have won a playoff game, and the frustration got to be too much for coach Mike Tomlin, who stepped down after 19 seasons,” Graziano wrote. “In came Mike McCarthy to replace him, and the Steelers are going in this time with a 42-year-old Rodgers who’s coming off the most meh seasons in the history of meh. They also have Will Howard, who was their sixth-round pick in 2025, and Drew Allar, who was their third-round pick in this year’s draft. Rudolph is still around, too.”
The Steelers swung and missed on Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft. Graziano thinks that mistake has caused the Steelers to be hesitant on selecting another quarterback in the first round.
“There isn’t a playoff-type team that has taken the quarterback position less seriously than the Steelers have over the past three years. It’s as if the Kenny Pickett first-round flop broke their will and they’ve decided it’s just not worth it to try for real answers,” Graziano wrote. “The overall roster looks better than it did a year ago, but the coaching change and the refusal to look anywhere else but Rodgers for a QB solution make Pittsburgh feel like a franchise whose ceiling is well established at this point.”
Rodgers finished 15th in the NFL in passing yards (3,322) last season, along with posting an impressive 24-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He played in 16 of the 17 regular season games, only missing the Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears due to a suffering multiple fractures in his non-throwing (left) wrist.
Mike McCarthy’s offense is known to put up points and the Steelers have bolstered their wide receiver corps with trading for Michael Pittman Jr. and selecting Germie Bernard in the second round.
Former NFL defensive back Logan Ryan thinks analyst and fans need to be careful of doubting Rodgers. At 42, Rodgers is obviously not in his prime anymore, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make noise in the AFC.
“Can Aaron Rodgers and [Mike] McCarthy go back to their Hail Mary days and catch the magic or are they both past their prime? Ryan asked recently on CBS Sports HQ. “I don’t know. I think that Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks that I ever played against.
“He’s a wizard at the line of scrimmage, but he hasn’t always been that the last few years. But I wouldn’t cast him out. I don’t think he’s gonna be completely awful … That’s gonna be a very interesting team.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Analyst Blasts Steelers for Quarterback Approach: ‘Kenny Pickett First-Round Flop Broke Their Will’
