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By Matthew Schmidt
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to go for broke this offseason, signing Aaron Rodgers and adding major pieces like D.K. Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey. But are the Steelers in over their heads here?
While there are some who have Pittsburgh pegged as a legitimate Super Bowl contender heading into 2025, former NFL star Chris Canty is not buying any of the hype, and it's because he has zero belief in Rodgers at this point.
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"It's because I don't believe in the quarterback. I just don't," Canty said on ESPN First Take. "They've pinned the regression of Aaron Rodgers on injuries he's suffered over the last three years. Whether it's injuries or whether it's age, it doesn't really matter. ... We saw with the New York Jets they were better off without him than they were with him with the combination of Trevor Siemian, Tim Boyle and Zach Wilson."
Canty is referring to the 2023 campaign when Rodgers suffered torn Achilles on the first series of the season opener. The Jets went 7-10 that year while employing a revolving door under center. Then, last year, New York won just five games in spite of Rodgers playing full-time.
"I struggle to see how he is going to raise the floor for what we've seen from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the last half-decade," Canty added.
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Say what you want about Rodgers, but he still managed to throw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. Was he peak Rodgers? Of course not, but he wasn't terrible, and he definitely has a much better supporting cast at his disposal in Steel City than he did in the Big Apple.
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The Steelers won 10 games in 2024 with Russell Wilson at signal-caller and have not posted a losing campaign since 2003, so it seems hard to imagine Pittsburgh falling off after clearly upgrading at quarterback.
It is certainly fair to question whether or not Rodgers will stay healthy over the course of 17 games, but acting like he is no longer even a serviceable player — which many seem to be doing — is disingenuous.
We'll see if Rodgers can silence his doubters this fall.
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