For a man who supposedly loathes everything ‘normal,’ this is becoming oddly routine for Aaron Rodgers.
He debates his NFL future for months, leaves one team to join another, then proclaims that he loves his new environment.
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“I’m an old guy, so I want to be part of a team that can win it all and I believe this is a place where we can get that done,” Rodgers told the media.
In 2023, with the New York Jets.
“I noticed walking in this morning that that Super Bowl III trophy is looking a little lonely,” Rodgers boldly said, as he joined a franchise with Super Bowl expectations.
The future Hall of Famer added: “The opportunity to be part of something special here, it’s different. When you win in a city … for a team like the New York Jets, you go down in history.
“And there’s something special about adding that to your legacy.”
On Tuesday, Rodgers was finally set to meet with the Pittsburgh media and discuss the biggest story of the NFL offseason.
His story.
It’s the same end-of-career tale that Brett Favre lived through for years.
And unless Rodgers turns a mid-level NFL team into Super Bowl champs in 2025, his first Steelers press conference will end like his first Jets session.
With eventual fan frustration and disappointment.
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“I’m not here to be a savior of any kind,” Rodgers wisely said in 2023.
Pittsburgh has mortgaged its present on an unpredictable 41-year-old quarterback, while delaying a looming future.
If Rodgers fails in black and gold and the Steelers aren’t good enough to make the playoffs, longtime head coach Mike Tomlin should join Rodgers on Pittsburgh’s discard pile.
“When he (Rodgers) walks into the building, everything changes,” said Nathaniel Hackett in 2023.
“He just elevates everybody around him.”
Rodgers’ offensive coordinator with Green Bay and the Jets was soon demoted from calling plays for New York, and no longer appears on the team’s coaching staff roster.
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Robert Saleh was coldly fired as the Jets’ head coach, after New York risked it all on Rodgers.
If Rodgers fully explains why it took him so long to decide to play one more year with the QB-desperate Steelers, his long delay before signing a one-year, $13 million contract will make more sense.
If he bleeds black and gold in 2025 and plays his butt off like it’s 2021, NFL fans across the globe will gladly acknowledge that another long wait was worth it.
But it will take Pittsburgh’s first trophy since 2008 to truly make A-Rod at 41 pay off.
Once Rodgers leaves the Steelers, Pittsburgh will again be QB desperate and looking for a long-term savior.
And no matter how many times Rodgers insists that the Steelers are ‘special,’ it’s worth remembering that he once said the same exact thing about the Packers and Jets.
The New Guy
Aaron Rodgers with Packers: 18 seasons, 59,055 yards, 475 TDs, 147-75-1 record
Rodgers with Jets: 2 seasons, 3,897 yards, 28 TDs, 6-12 record
Age: 41
NFL seasons: 20
Draft: No. 24 overall pick in 2005 (California)
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