Aaron Rodgers has reportedly visited the Pittsburgh Steelers recently to possibly become their next QB. The team has been aggressively pursuing the future Hall of Famer as they continue their search for QB since Ben Roethlisberger left in 2021. This brings to mind the time when Rodgers expressed his admiration for the Steelers’ legendary head coach, Mike Tomlin.
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The Steelers aren’t just pursuing Rodgers; they’re aggressively pursuing him, according to sources. They report that he spent the entire day at the team’s facilities but left without signing any agreement. It’s not the news some Steelers fans were hoping for, but it’s still a step toward potentially signing the QB.
This takes us back to a clip from 2021 on the Pat McAfee Show, where Rodgers opened up about his admiration for Tomlin.
“Big Mike Tomlin fan,” Rodgers says in the recently-surfaced video. “Have been for a long time. I like the way that he speaks about his team. I like the way that he goes about his business. His confidence. You know, I’ve heard nothing but good things from the guys that have played there. I like Mike Tomlin.”
It was high praise from the former Jets QB. At the time, Rodgers was still in Green Bay, coming off an MVP campaign and working on another. He was playing some of the best football of his life. However, the past three seasons have been far from it.
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In 2022, Rodgers struggled to elevate an average Green Bay team and missed the playoffs. Then in ‘23, he famously tore his Achilles on the first drive with his new team in New York. This brings us to ‘24 where he had the worst season of his career. Rodgers played in all 17 games and failed to reach totals that he normally hit in years prior. Ultimately, the Jets cut him and ate the final $58.5 million on his deal.
Now, Rodgers is being viewed as a last resort for Pittsburgh. They’ve exhausted all of their options. The Steelers tried drafting Kenny Pickett to replace Roethlisberger, and he failed miserably. Then they gave Russell Wilson a crack at the job, and after a good start, he went belly up like a fish by the playoffs. Now they’re trying to snag not just a veteran QB like Wilson, but a legend of the game.
It would be quite the full-circle moment for Rodgers. Remember, it was the Steelers in 2011 who he beat to capture his first and only Lombardi Trophy. Soon he could be captaining them and trying to win their first Super Bowl since 2008. It would go a long way in cementing Tomlin’s legacy as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. And Rodgers’ as well.
