Now in the twilight of his illustrious career, Aaron Rodgers appears to be potentially playing his final season in 2025. Fans are familiar with him in Green Bay Packers colors and, more recently, with the New York Jets, but this year he’s a Steeler, and he’s already led Pittsburgh to a 4-1 start.
Rodgers’ move to the Steelers was a long, drawn-out process. Let’s revisit how he landed in Pittsburgh and break down his contract and salary for the 2025 season.
How Did Aaron Rodgers End Up in Pittsburgh?
While Rodgers had an all-time great career in Green Bay, his time in New York was torrid and riddled with injuries. The Jets released him in March, and he was linked to the Steelers for most of the offseason.
However, Rodgers delayed signing to handle some issues in his personal life. Pittsburgh was quietly confident that Rodgers would sign and passed on selecting a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft until the sixth round (when they drafted Will Howard).
The 10-time Pro Bowler was coming off one of his worst statistical seasons, throwing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 2024. However, with Mason Rudolph, Howard, and Skylar Thompson on the roster, Rodgers was Pittsburgh’s best option under center.
The Steelers’ patience eventually paid off in June when Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.65 million deal. The contract includes $10 million in guaranteed money, and he could earn as much as $5.85 million in playing time and team-performance incentives as well.
Rodgers’ Early Impact with the Steelers
Rodgers has been impressive through the first five games, throwing for 1021 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Based on PFSN’s Quarterback Impact metric, the four-time NFL MVP is currently the 20th-ranked QB in the league with an impact score of 75.2.
While Pittsburgh’s offense may not be among the league’s most prolific overall, Rodgers has helped make it highly efficient once inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. His veteran presence and decision-making have also helped stabilize the offense, allowing the coaching staff to maximize each scoring opportunity.
Heading into Week 7, the Steelers’ offense is ranked 12th-best in the league based on PFSN’s Offense Impact metric.
Steelers Players’ Fantasy Outlooks for Week 7
Here’s what PFSN’s Kyle Soppe wrote about the notable Steelers players’ fantasy outlooks for the Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals:
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers stayed consistent, continuing his every-other-game pattern of multiple TD tosses.
The scores are always lovely to get, but in this dink-and-dunk scheme, where’s the upside for a pocket-locked 41-year-old?
Realistically, there isn’t one. He’s yet to throw for 245 yards in a game and has one week of usability despite completing 68.8% of his attempts this season.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 7 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
A plus matchup and a Hall of Fame name is an enticing combination, but I’m not going this way in single-quarterback leagues if I don’t have to.
D.K. Metcalf
That’s consecutive WR1 finishes for DK Metcalf around the Week 5 bye, and while I’m generally not buying him long-term, I do think he keeps the good times rolling in this ultra-favorable spot.
This season, no team blitzes less often than the Bengals, and when Aaron Rodgers has time to read a defense, he tends to favor his 6’4″ tank of a WR1.
Go figure. Through six weeks, 38.2% of his non-blitzed targets have been directed toward Metcalf (blitzed: 24.5%). The anti-Metcalf argument stems from a lack of per-target upside, and I’ll stand on that soapbox after we get past this matchup … it doesn’t hold water in a spot against a bad defense where we can pencil him in for 8-10 looks.
The 25-yard touchdown against the Browns last week was seemingly a month in the making. All the film showed shallow crossing routes for Metcalf: the plan being to have Rodgers hit him in stride and let him dance.
The touchdown on Sunday leveraged that tendency into a double move and an easy score. Combine that design with a sideline dime, and it’s very clear that the future Hall of Fame QB implicitly trusts his WR1. Come back next week when I suggest selling high, but for Week 7, I’m in!
Jaylen Warren
When Najee Harris left this backfield, I left my mind open to just about anything when it came to the role of Jaylen Warren. I didn’t see him being a version of Harris with Kenneth Gainwell basically filling his previous role.
Warren is the unquestioned top ball carrier on this team, but with Gainwell recording three times as many receptions as him on Sunday, the duality that we thought would be his in 2022 really isn’t there.
Now, he has caught multiple passes in all four of his games, so let’s not make this a Derrick Henry situation, though it is clear that Aaron Rodgers is comfortable with Gainwell, and that shaves a few points off the ceiling of their RB1.
You’re starting Warren and feel great about him in a spot like this where the game script should work in his favor (my RB15), but you need to have your eyes wide open about the long-term risk in this less-than-perfect profile, especially if you think this 4-1 record comes with some smoke-and-mirrors to it.
