It’s been a busy offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who brought in quarterback Aaron Rodgers to help them compete for a Super Bowl. That sentence would’ve lit the NFL world on fire a few years ago, but the four-time NFL MVP is now on the proverbial back nine of his career.
To be more specific, Rodgers may be on the 18th hole. Many expect that, as he’s alluded to, this is his last season. Can the 41-year-old go out on top with one last vintage campaign? The NFL doesn’t seem to be too sold on that.
In his annual league survey of NFL executives, coaches and scouts, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed that Rodgers fell from his previous No. 8 ranking among all quarterbacks. This summer’s results saw him receive top-10 votes but not make the cut.
Aaron Rodgers’ Fall Out of Annual League Survey Is Justified
In a separate story, ESPN broke down Rodgers’ new reality with the Steelers.
“Rodgers proved he could still play at age 40 and coming off an Achilles injury, with rather impressive looking traditional numbers (3,897 yards, 28 TD, 11 INT) and a handful of vintage Rodgers performances,” ESPN wrote. “But he also finished 25th in QBR and the Jets were finished by October, so a place outside the top 10 is more than appropriate for the future Hall of Famer. Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Steelers in June, and said 2025 would likely be his final NFL season.”
As the article mentioned, Rodgers’ counting stats weren’t too bad at all. He finished 31 yards shy of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was ranked first in the survey. He also threw for two more touchdowns with the same number of interceptions. A closer look, though, reflects someone who indeed didn’t deserve a spot on the list.
According to rbsdm.com, Rodgers ranked 19th in EPA/play (0.057) in the 2024 regular season. He was 24th in success rate (44.3%) and 30th in completion percentage over expected (-2.6). All of that while placing 28th in average air yards (6.8) doesn’t signal elite play. Pro Football Focus was more optimistic, giving Rodgers a 78.0 overall grade that ranked 18th out of 75 field generals.
No matter how you slice it, Rodgers wasn’t a top-shelf quarterback in 2024.
Assessing How Rodgers Can Rebound in Potential Final Season
Rodgers did show some promise last season, however. There’s still a chance that he strings together some quality performances with the Steelers. Three of his final five games with the New York Jets were quite positive. Weeks 14 (339 yards and a touchdown), 15 (289 yards and 3 touchdowns) and 18 (274 yards and 4 touchdowns) stand out. The future Hall of Fame man wasn’t 100% for most of the year, either.
The issue is things like durability typically don’t get better with time. Rodgers would be an anomaly if he got better in time for his 42nd birthday. Pittsburgh is at least making an effort to help him; DK Metcalf at wideout and Jonnu Smith at tight end are examples of that.
There’s a case to be made that the running game and offensive line will also be improved. On the flip side, there’s also a not-so-distant reality where Rodgers’ set of playmakers isn’t enough. Heck, there’s a world where he simply isn’t enough anymore.
For a franchise that’s gone 10-7 in consecutive seasons, simply competing for a playoff spot isn’t the goal. It never was, and it still won’t be after Rodgers leaves town. The ultimate bar is a championship, something Rodgers hasn’t brought a team in over a decade. He’s undoubtedly considered one of the 10 best quarterbacks to ever play the game, but it’s entirely worth questioning whether he’s one of the 10 best currently doing so.
The league is fair in doing the latter.
