Winners and Losers of Aaron Rodgers Signing With Steelers

He spent the past two years with the New York Jets after a stellar career with the Green Bay Packers, where he won a Super Bowl and four MVP awards.

Aaron Rodgers (8) of the New York Jets looks on before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 15, 2024. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Aaron Rodgers will quarterback the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025, according to the official announcement of his signing on Thursday.

Rodgers, 41, spent the past two years with the New York Jets after a stellar career with the Green Bay Packers, where he won a Super Bowl and four MVP awards. New York released him after the season, and he opted for a storied, winning franchise in the Steelers.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers of the Steelers finally landing Rodgers on a one-year deal after months of anticipation.

Winners

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers gets a chance to end his career on a high note with a franchise that’s a consistent winner and built to win now.

The Steelers have a solid defense, plus good offensive talent to surround Rodgers with. He can particularly benefit from the new wide receiver DK Metcalf.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers put the quarterback carousel conundrum to rest, which shaped 2024 with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on the roster. Both are now with the New York teams, and the Steelers have a definitive starter with playoff experience.

Rodgers is past his prime, but he still showed flashes of his old self with the Jets. If the Steelers can get the best out of Rodgers when needed most, Pittsburgh could make a run in the postseason.

DK Metcalf

Metcalf will have a consistent quarterback to work with all season in Rodgers and one with higher-end talent than the previous potential starter, Mason Rudolph. The former Seahawks star still has plenty left in the tank, and being Rodgers’s go-to guy could lead to a big season in the Steel City.

Arthur Smith

Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith gets a stellar and experienced quarterback in Rodgers to guide the offense. It gives Smith a chance to take the load off the run game and create in the passing game with Rodgers, even if the longtime star plays more of a game-manager role.

Minnesota Vikings

Rodgers will not follow the Brett Favre trajectory from Green Bay to the Jets to the Vikings after all. For the Vikings, that’s a good thing with a young and talented team, plus a promising second-year quarterback in J.J. McCarthy.

Minnesota’s brass didn’t see it fit to bring in Rodgers a year after taking a quarterback at No. 10 in the draft. In addition, Rodgers producing a career year as Favre did with the Vikings in 2009 seems unlikely since Rodgers’s play declined further than Favre’s in New York beforehand.

Losers

The Rest of the AFC

Particularly the AFC North, the division just became harder for everyone. However, Rodgers’s joining the Steelers really impacts the whole AFC picture.

Pittsburgh could unseat the Baltimore Ravens as AFC North champions this year and keep the Cincinnati Bengals at bay. Afterward, the Steelers, with Rodgers’s playoff experience, could be a threat to the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs, but it will likely take strong defensive performances by the Steelers, coupled with big games by Rodgers.

Allen Lazard

One of Rodgers’s longtime targets, wide receiver Allen Lazard, may not find his way out of New York after two seasons with the Jets. The Steelers have a solid receiver room, and a trade for Lazard may not make sense in the grand scheme of things for Pittsburgh.

That said, Lazard could prove himself without Rodgers in New York. Lazard will ironically get to work with former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields in order to do so.

Kirk Cousins

Suddenly, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins has one less option for landing a starting job in 2025. Michael Penix Jr. took over the starting job in Atlanta last season, but the Falcons have kept Cousins on the roster despite a four-year, $180 million deal.

The good news for Cousins is that there are potential quarterback-needy teams still out there, such as the New Orleans Saints, amid Derek Carr’s retirement.