For the second straight year, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a completely new quarterback room entering the season. After rolling with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen for the 2024 season, Pittsburgh enters the 2025 season with Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph and one of Skylar Thompson or rookie Will Howard at the position.
On paper, it doesn’t seem like a huge upgrade, but having Rodgers under center gives the Steelers the best quarterback they’ve had since the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era. That’s noteworthy because it should allow the Steelers to compete at a high level this season with a great defense and some explosive talent offensively.
For head coach Mike Tomlin, what makes the quarterback room an upgrade this season over last season’s group centers on one man: Rodgers. Sitting down with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola ahead of the Thursday night preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers, Tomlin made clear what makes the room better this year.
“Aaron. He has a unique resume, and not only a unique resume and experience, but those who have watched practice realize he still has very unique arm talent,” Tomlin said, according to Steelers.com. “There’s not a throw that he can’t make from any body position or from any angle. He’s a unicorn.
“He’s one of one. And so it makes it a totally different conversation.”
Rodgers alone does make the QB room an upgrade from last year. Sure, Fields was a great athlete and played some strong football last year to help the Steelers start 4-2, and Wilson had some good moments pushing the ball down the field, hitting those moonballs.
But neither is Rodgers when it comes to arm talent or even individual resumes. Rodgers is a four-time NFL MVP for a reason. He’s arguably the greatest thrower of the football in NFL history, at least from an arm talent standpoint.
During training camp, that arm talent stood out as the ball zipped around in Latrobe. Rodgers still has that lightning-quick release, too, and can make all the throws, still capable of doing it off platform, too. Though he hasn’t played a snap in-stadium yet, outside of the joint practice with Tampa Bay, there’s a lot of confidence with Rodgers under center for the Steelers.
They seem to believe they have a guy who can lead them to contention. While his arm is his calling card, what will set Rodgers apart from the other quarterbacks the Steelers have cycled through is his mind at the line of scrimmage.
“He’s the best. He’s the best in the world at the line of scrimmage – mannerisms and changes of pace and cadence and so forth,” Tomlin said of Rodgers. “His intellectual game is just on the ceiling. His physical talents are unique, but his intellectual talents are just as rare.”
At 41 years old and having played a great amount of football to this point, Rodgers has seen and done it all. No coverage or defensive alignment will throw him off.
That’s what makes him great. Former Steelers running back Merril Hoge explained just that a few months ago shortly after Rodgers signed with the Black and Gold. Now, the Steelers are seeing it, and they hope it gives them an advantage this season.
He’s working with a young offense, but the pieces are in place for Rodgers and the Steelers to have a productive group on that side of the football, which should pair nicely with a star-studded defense that should be among the league’s best.
