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The Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting on Aaron Rodgers, who they were believed to be signing this offseason after the departures of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. But if Rodgers decides not to sign with the Steelers, Pittsburgh can fall back on Mason Rudolph.
Rudolph, who spent last season with the Tennessee Titans, returned to Pittsburgh, where he spent six years from 2018 to 2023. And while many view Rudolph as a backup and Rodgers as a necessary addition this offseason, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano said the Steelers are “probably fine” if Rodgers doesn't end up showing up at all.
“Everyone wants to talk about Aaron Rodgers going to the Steelers, and that's their hope. This is not MVP Aaron Rodgers. This is not 2020 Aaron Rodgers. This is a shell of that,” Graziano said on ‘Get Up' this morning. “He was a bad quarterback in the NFL last season. He was not markedly better last season than Mason Rudolph was for the Tennessee Titans when he played.”
Rodgers' last three seasons, in fact, have been disappointing for different reasons. In 2022, his last with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers regressed after an MVP season in 2021. Following a year in which he threw for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and completed nearly 69% of his passes, Rodgers, while playing one more game than in 2021, tallied 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and completed less than 65% of his passes.
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After that season, Rodgers signed with the New York Jets, giving up to a long-tormented fan base that he would be able to end not only their playoff drought but their Super Bowl drought as well. Unfortunately, the first season of the Rodgers experiment ended almost as quickly as it started. The future Hall-of-Fame quarterback tore his Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the opener, ending his season.
While Rodgers managed to play all 17 games last season, the Jets finished with an even worse record than they did without him in 2023. Rodgers posted similar numbers to his 2022 season, but unlike that year, when the Packers won eight games, the Jets could only muster five in 2024.
The disappointing season not only cast doubt on Rodgers' future with the Jets — the team announced shortly after the season that they would not be bringing him back in 2025 — but it also cost Jets head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas their jobs in the middle of the year.
Meanwhile, Rudolph played eight games and started five with the Titans, during which he had a 64% completion percentage, 6.7 yards per attempt, and a QB rating of 80.1. In comparison, Rodgers completed 63.0% of his passes, averaged 6.7 yards per attempt, and had a QB rating of 90.5 last season.
