Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark didn’t hold back when reacting to the team’s decision to sign veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Thursday.
Appearing on SportsCenter, Clark shared a blunt and sobering assessment:
“This is the worst case scenario for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It continues to keep you mired in mediocrity. Will this team be better? Have they gotten better in the quarterback room? Absolutely. Will they contend for that championship that Pittsburgh Steelers people and fans and organization think is the standard? No, they won’t. ….
“Five years from when both of these men retire (Tomlin and Rodgers), one of them will give the most motivational Hall of Fame speech we’ve ever heard. Another will probably give the most interesting, and it won’t mean anything. They’ll be fighting for a wild card spot. They’ll probably be home Week One of the playoffs and again be looking for a franchise quarterback.”
Clark’s opinion may not be what Steelers fans want to hear, but his points are hard to ignore. While Rodgers is undoubtedly one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation and a lock for Canton, he isn’t the same magician who once dominated in Green Bay.
At a surface level, Rodgers’ 2024 stats suggest he still has some gas left in the tank, throwing for over 3,500 yards. But a deeper look reveals signs for concern.
According to ESPN’s Total QBR metric, Rodgers posted a 48.0 QBR last season, ranking 25th out of 32 qualified starters. Pro Football Focus graded Rodgers at 71.5 overall, placing him 21st among quarterbacks. His passing grade alone came in at 69.3, the lowest full-season mark of his career. He averaged just 6.6 yards per attempt, landing in the bottom third among starters. He was sacked 40 times, and his pressure-to-sack ratio climbed to 23.8 percent, one of the highest rates in the league.
Compounding the issue, Rodgers will be playing behind an offensive line that has consistently struggled in pass protection. The Steelers’ offensive line earned a 59.2 pass-blocking grade from PFF in 2024, ranking 26th in the league. Rodgers was never known as a dynamic scrambler, but he was capable of extending plays and making throws on the run. Now, two years removed from a torn Achilles and with declining mobility, that ability appears diminished.
The question now is whether Rodgers can summon one last late-career resurgence and finally lift Pittsburgh beyond the Wild Card ceiling, or whether it will be more of the same for a franchise still searching for a true heir to Ben Roethlisberger.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers DB Rips Rodgers Signing: ‘Worst Case Scenario’
