There are two potential outcomes for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense now that Aaron Rodgers is reportedly back for a second year as the starting quarterback.
The first is that he’s coming back at age 42, so he’ll be a year older and less productive than he was in 2025.
The second is that he’ll be better because new coach Mike McCarthy is running the offense now, and there are a few better weapons to throw to, thanks to some offseason additions.
I lean slightly to the second possibility, that the Rodgers-McCarthy combination, with an improved supporting cast, will boost the offense a bit. However, given Rodgers’ age and injury risk, I don’t expect those improvements to be dramatic enough to significantly change Pittsburgh’s chances of making an AFC playoff run, or even winning a postseason game.
In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X echoed that belief.
“It’s not going to be better enough. They’ll win. They won’t win enough,” Madden asserted. “It is like the Pirates. They’re better, just not better enough. And I think the same will very likely apply to the Steelers.”
Madden has a bigger issue beyond 2026 when it comes to the Steelers working this hard to bring back Rodgers.
“In the short term, it’s a slight upside. I think in the long term, it’s a big downside. I think they’re kicking the can down the road again of trying to figure out who their long-term quarterback is,” Madden said. “I know what they’ve got (in Rodgers), and I guess it’s better. But I don’t think it’s good enough, and I think it puts off where they need to go.”
Madden believes this wastes a potential opportunity to get a read on 2026 third-round pick Drew Allar.
“It was one thing (to retain Rodgers) when you didn’t have anybody on the roster who was a potential long-term replacement. Potential. Underlined, italics, bold face — a potential franchise quarterback. But you have that now in Drew Allar,” Madden continued. “I would have liked to have seen Mason Rudolph start the season and kind of work toward Allar maybe being ready. Ready when he’s ready. It has to happen organically, but perhaps by the middle of the season.”
With Rodgers’ arrival, though, Madden says that won’t happen.
“Now they’re just stuck with ‘Grandpa Game Manager,’” Madden said. “They’ll end up 10-7, get killed in a playoff game and killed in every game when their opponent is a really good, aggressive, fast defense, because he just can’t keep up against the defense like that.”
Also during the podcast, we talk about Rodgers’ reported salary bump, the offensive line shuffle, the Pirates-Phillies series, the Penguins’ offseason plans and the Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano fight Saturday night.
