The Aaron Rodgers era has officially commenced on Heinz Street. The future Hall of Fame quarterback arrived at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Saturday to sign a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He will collect $10 million guaranteed and have a chance to earn a maximum value of $19.5 million.
The deal includes playtime and performance incentives. Pittsburgh has not won a playoff game since the 2016-17 campaign and is desperate to raise its ceiling. A 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers who is coming off a tough run with the New York Jets does not seem like an ideal candidate to accomplish that crucial task, but he does have a Super Bowl ring and did just flirt with a 4,000-yard, 30-touchdown campaign.
Rodgers will also be two years removed from suffering a torn Achilles, which makes a possible resurgence a little easier to fathom. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is trusting him to lead a modified offense that features two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DK Metcalf. Assuming the offensive line avoids another season of catastrophic injury luck, the veteran QB could have enough time to operate in the pocket.
Can Rodgers make it work in Pittsburgh? The public is understandably skeptical, but the organization is not paying much to find out.
The Steelers should understand their current situation
Steelers general manager Omar Khan obviously could have selected a quarterback earlier in the NFL Draft — took national champion Will Howard in sixth round — but the front office is clearly content with starting the four-time MVP for a year and ironing out the long-term plan at a later date.
That line of thinking has upset many fans, to surprising levels in some cases, as the city eagerly waits for clarity. There is no denying the challenging circumstances surrounding this team. Patrick Mahomes leads the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs, Josh Allen continues to keep the Buffalo Bills in contention and the AFC North houses multi-time MVP Lamar Jackson and two-time Pro Bowler Joe Burrow.
The Steelers Way is nice and all, and it has obviously resulted in noteworthy consistency, but a squad is unlikely to truly succeed in this conference without a franchise quarterback. Aaron Rodgers occupied that role for most of his career. Pittsburgh hopes he can do so again, at least for one more season.
Rodgers wants to delay Father Time, and the Steelers want to delay some hard questions. They will now try to navigate this crossroads together.
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