Pride of Detroit
How many picks will Kerby Joseph get when Aaron Rodgers comes back to town?
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially signed quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a one-year contract. They, like the Jets before them, are hoping the former league MVP will help give them the final push they need in order to become a Super Bowl contender.
[Editor’s note: The Steelers’ front office working through their logic on signing Aaron Rodgers.]
The Steelers have a difficult path to the postseason this year. Not only are they in a very competitive AFC North, but their division also has to face off against the NFC North in 2025, including making a late-December trip to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions in their final home game of the 2025 regular season.
Rodgers will be 42 years old when he squares off with the Lions in Week 16, and he’s coming off two of the worst statistical seasons of his career.
Just how bad were they?
As Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis pointed out on social media, Rodgers had a lower EPA, YPA, and accuracy in 2024 than Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Mason Rudolph—the trio of quarterbacks the Steelers elected to move on from this offseason in favor of landing Rodgers. Let’s also not forget that the Jets are taking a $49 million cap penalty to *not have Rodgers on their roster. That’s pretty telling.
But hey, maybe a change of scenery will help?
Sure, maybe. But Rodgers hasn’t led a team to a winning record (above .500) in three seasons, going back to his final season with the Packers in 2022. Of course, the Packers went 8-9 that season after losing both games to the Lions, mainly thanks to Kerby Joseph, who intercepted Rodgers three times during his rookie season.
And that leads us to our question of the day:
My answer: If I’m being conservative, I’d probably say one... but I’ll go with my gut and say two.
Joseph has only improved since his rookie season, and the statistics support this. As a rookie, three of Joseph’s four interceptions came off Rodgers, but in the two seasons since, Joseph secured another 13 interceptions, led the NFL interceptions last season, and was named an All-Pro in 2024, despite not having Rodgers on the schedule.
I’m expecting the Steelers to struggle to stay above .500—something Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has accomplished every season in the NFL—and in a game where Pittsburgh will need to win, I can envision Rodgers pushing the envelope and taking extra chances (like he did in the Packers final game of the 2022 season), and those are the moments in which Joseph makes teams pay the price.
So what do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
