Steelers Now
Former New England Patriots wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman gave his honest assessment on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ signing of Aaron Rodgers. He thinks the Steelers will be better in 2025, but the 41-year-old quarterback will not take Pittsburgh to the promised land.
“I think they’ll be a little better than last year,” Edelman said on The Herd. “Do I think they’re gonna win a Super Bowl? No. I love Mike Tomlin, I love the culture, I love the defense, I like Arthur Smith. But how fast can they get that machine going? Aaron doesn’t know his teammates at all yet. Once again, he’s going into another year behind.
“…I like the move. It’s the best thing for the Steelers right now. And Aaron, he’s going to a team that’s not terrible. If he wants to continue his football career, that’s awesome. He gets the opportunity to do it at one of the pillars of the National Football League — but do I think they’re going to win a Super Bowl? No, I don’t.”
Edelman’s take is not really earth-shattering, as it’s quite obvious that the Steelers are most likely not set up for a Super Bowl run. Unless Rodgers has a 2009 Brett Favre-like season.
At +3500 (15th-best in the NFL), the Steelers sport a 2.8% chance of winning the Super Bowl, according to FOX Sports.
Despite narratives that Rodgers is washed, it’s hard to dispute that he’s not the best quarterback the Steelers have had since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season.
Since 2022, Rodgers has 54 passing touchdowns. In that same time frame, the Steelers have had only 46 touchdown passes. Rodgers also had only one pass attempt in 2023 before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury.
The four-time league MVP and future Hall of Fame quarterback showed he can still play good football last year with the New York Jets, throwing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was at his best late in the year, too, which is an encouraging sign for the Steelers. Of Rodgers’ 30 fastest top-speed plays last season, 17 came in Week 13 or later, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated said the Steelers came away pleasantly surprised after doing a thorough study on Rodgers from last season.
“Their study of Rodgers showed a little more than even they expected. Early in the 2024 season, the Achilles, and a hamstring injury to follow, clearly hampered him. But as time wore on, even with the Jets struggling, the Steelers saw Rodgers returning to form,” Breer wrote. “In the Jets’ Halloween game against the Texans, he made a few big-time back-shoulder throws. He played well in both Dolphins games. In Week 16 against the Jaguars, Pittsburgh saw vintage Rodgers, with a late go-ahead touchdown throw to Davante Adams really standing out.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Patriots Star Gives Honest Take on Aaron Rodgers
