Pittsburgh Steelers Legend Slams Signing Of QB Aaron Rodgers
The Pittsburgh Steelers got their quarterback for the 2025 season this week. After weeks of speculation, Aaron Rodgers has finally confirmed he will be signing with the AFC North team. After struggling last year with the New York Jets, Pittsburgh will try to give the four-time MVP one more shot at a Super Bowl. The move has been polarizing, with ESPN analyst and Steelers legend Ryan Clark slamming the move in a segment.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers DB Ryan Clark On Aaron Rodgers
Ryan Clark has made it clear throughout the offseason that he isn’t a fan of the former Green Bay Packers quarterback. It’s not just the subpar play on the field, but also his controversial comments on various subjects. In a SportsCenter segment right after the news broke, he unleashed his opinion.
“This is the worst-case scenario for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It continues to keep you mired in mediocrity. Will this team be better? Have they gotten better in the quarterback room? Absolutely. Will they contend for that championship that Pittsburgh Steelers’ people, fans, and the organization thinks is the standard? No, they won’t.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers have kept their streak of winning seasons alive over the past half-decade, but it hasn’t translated to any postseason success. Because of their playoff appearances, they haven’t been in a position to reset the quarterback position, opting for stop-gaps instead of lasting solutions. Rodgers is the latest stop-gap, and Clark has had enough. He made another appearance on Friday morning’s edition of Get Up and made it clear that Rodgers is an upgrade over Mason Rudolph and his problem is with the process rather than the player.
“I’m not here to bash Aaron Rodgers. I believe that Aaron Rodgers is an upgrade to Mason Rudolph. I even believe that Aaron Rodgers is a slight upgrade to what Russell Wilson was last year. Aaron Rodgers is no longer elite. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t walk into the building with the cache that says to the rest of the organization, ‘this is our guy that’s gonna allow us to win a championship.'”
2025 Outlook
The Pittsburgh Steelers were basically out of options. Every other available quarterback had already signed, and a trade for Kirk Cousins doesn’t sound like much of an improvement. Rodgers showed flashes of his MVP self last year with the Jets, but also started to show his age and injury history. The defense also played extremely poorly down the stretch despite the star-studded roster.
Looking at the roster as it stands in early June, this looks like another 9-8 finish with a potential seventh seed, playoff appearance. It puts the team right back to where they have been every offseason for the past few years. At some point, the team will have to find a long-term answer at quarterback.
Final Thoughts
This is likely Rodgers’s last chance for a Super Bowl run. He has a good coaching staff and a solid roster behind him. Can he return to his MVP form and lead this team to another Super Bowl?
