Aaron Rodgers has finally decided to suit up for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2025 season. The veteran QB is expected to report to mandatory minicamp after keeping the franchise on hold for over two months.
While the Steelers have full faith in him and are likely to hand him their QB1 mantle, one NFL analyst doesn’t feel the same about the signing.
NFL Analyst’s Bold Prediction About Aaron Rodgers’ First Season With Steelers
The Steelers offered Rodgers a deal in March, but the four-time NFL MVP continued to delay the signing, citing personal reasons. Pittsburgh was confident enough in Rodgers reaching a deal that they didn’t take a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft until the sixth round.
Rodgers joins a crowded quarterback room that includes Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and rookie Will Howard, who the team selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Rudolph had been operating as QB1 throughout the offseason, but that will change now.
During the latest episode of “First Things First,” NFL analyst Chris Broussard shared his take on the Steelers’ decision to add Rodgers to their roster.
“I expect failure,” Broussard said. “I hate to say it. I think this is going to be the first losing season of Mike Tomlin’s career.”
“It’s going to be a failure. I don’t like the way Rodgers dragged this thing out, kind of made it about himself. I don’t know, privately maybe told them two months ago, ‘I’m coming,’ but it feels like, publicly, it was all about him.”
Broussard presented some arguments to defend his brutal prediction, citing the difficult gauntlet the AFC North offers.
“His age, he hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021. His last three seasons, or really two since he got hurt with the [New York Jets in] his first year, he’s 13-21 [not including the 2023 season]. I know the Steelers have a great defense, a good coach, but I just think in that division, with that schedule, it’s going to be a failure.”
“It’s going to look bad because he’s going out in the first losing season of Mike Tomlin’s career,” Broussard concluded.
Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Steelers. The deal includes $10 million in guaranteed money. He can also earn $5.65 million in playing-time and team-performance incentives, bringing the deal’s total value to $19.5 million.
Rodgers joined the Jets in 2023 after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, but his debut was cut short when he tore his Achilles tendon just four snaps into the season. Year 2 didn’t fare much better — the Jets limped to a 5-12 record. After spending the offseason weighing his options as a free agent, Rodgers eventually signed with the Steelers.
In his lone full season as a starter for the Jets, he threw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He ranked 21st in PFSN’s QB+ metric and led the league’s 19th-ranked offense by PFSN’s Offense+ metric.
Now 41 years old and entering his 21st NFL season, Rodgers isn’t a long-term solution but could be a valuable stopgap for Pittsburgh. With a top-tier defense, rising young talent, and high expectations, the Steelers are banking on Rodgers having one more run in him.