Aaron Rodgers is a short-term rental for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Many analysts are predicting that Mike Tomlin will use the veteran QB as a bridge before handing the keys to the franchise to a rookie in 2026.
Rodgers is helping rookie Will Howard learn the ropesGettyBut former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum thinks the decision could come much sooner.
The Steelers drafted former Ohio State star Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft and Tannenbaum believes the 23-year-old will get a shot this season.
“Will Howard will be starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers by December 1,” he said on ESPN’s Get Up. “Will Howard led Ohio State to the National Championship — 89 QBR and 35 touchdown passes.
“If he was a little better in the offseason before the draft, he could have been a third or fourth-round pick. Aaron Rodgers is an all-time great, but he will be 42 in December.
“Last year, Pittsburgh gave up sacks at the 28th highest rate, meaning they were not very good protecting the passer.
“So, when you have a 42-year-old quarterback, no offseason program, an offensive line that should, in fairness, be better because Troy Fautanu is coming back — I think Will Howard has a meaningful chance to be the quarterback of the future and Mike Tomlin will play the best players. By the time we get to December, watch what happens.”
Mason Rudolph is currently listed as Rodgers’ back-up and the starter has been offering his services as a mentor to third-choice Howard.
“Will is a good kid,” Rodgers said in June. “We’ve gotten to talk a little bit. I thought he did really well today. You know, he seems pretty bright, not too big for him, going through the progressions really well.
“But yeah, I mean, I’m gonna be with him every single day, in every single meeting. Found my seat next to him today in the offensive meeting — whether or not that sticks — right next to Will Howard. So, I’m going to help him out as much as I can.”
Rodgers has come under fire for his role in the 2020 discussions over the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), where he spoke out against a 17-game season.
GettyRodgers will turn 42 during the season[/caption] His future remains in the balance after signing a one-year dealGettyFormer NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith wrote in his book that “The god of Cheesehead Nation [Rodgers] was isolated and dismissive.
“He sat in the back row of the meeting room, issuing loud sighs before standing for a dramatic exit. An incredible quarterback, to be sure, but an even more impressive antagonist.”
Rodgers was a vocal critic of adding an extra game to the schedule.
“I go back to the 17th game. The fact that it even got in there when – the guys that I talked to around the league – every meeting that was had before these negotiations got amped up, nobody wanted 17 games,” he said at the time. “A lot of us are wondering how the hell that even got into the conversation because nobody wanted it.
“Sixteen games to me, was never something to be negotiated. The owners made it clear that the 17th game is about paying the for ‘added’ benefits, and had nothing to do with positive feedback received about any extra risks involved with the added regular season game.
“Are we taking care of former players? What kind of additional player risks are we taking on? What are we getting in return for that? That’s the issue that I’ve had.”
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If Tannenbaum is correct, Rodgers won’t have to worry about playing 17 games this season.
But Tomlin will be hoping for more than that as the Steelers are clearly in win-now mode after trading for DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey.
Rodgers may not be the QB he once was, but with a talented roster he does not necessarily have to be to make a postseason run.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says he would take prime Rodgers over Patrick Mahomes at his best.
“Well, I would take Aaron in his prime over Patrick now,” he said on his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. “I think Aaron Rodgers in his prime was one of the top few to ever do it — and so is Patrick Mahomes at his prime.
“Patrick Mahomes is just going out of his prime, I think.”
Mahomes may be coming off two years of relatively poor production by his standards but he might have something to say about that judgement.
Rodgers is also under the microscope after two turbulent years with the Jets.
One year further on from a devastating Achilles injury that ruined his first campaign in New Jersey, it is now or never for the future Hall of Famer.
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