Booger McFarland believes Steelers want a Tom Brady, Bucs level impact with Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers is expected to sign with the Steelers in the coming days, but will his addition to the Pittsburgh offense make the franchise a championship contender once again? ESPN’s Booger McFarland believes it may be Super Bowl or bust for Rodgers with his new team.

“They’re not bringing Aaron Rodgers in here to win one playoff game,” McFarland said during an appearance on SportsCenter after the news broke. “When you have Minkah Fitzpatrick and Cam Heyward and TJ Watt — you’re going to get a 41 year old quarterback, who’s a Hall of Fame quarterback, to see if he can have a similar effect that Tom Brady had in Tampa when he took them to a Super Bowl.”

“That’s the goal. Anything else is going to be a disappointment.”

Of course, Brady came into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization and won it a Super Bowl during his first season with the team. He ultimately spent three seasons with the Bucs before retiring at age 45.

It’s often noted that ever since Mike Tomlin took over as head coach in 2007, the Steelers have never produced a losing season. They don’t plan to start than now and even with the inconsistency the team has endured under center since 2022, they’ve still experienced success on the field.

If that’s the case, there should be no reason to believe that Rodgers won’t have a successful tenure in Pittsburgh. After all, Rodgers has had 12 winning seasons as a starting NFL quarterback since joining the league in 2005.

“If you protect him, his arm is still one of the best arms in the National Football League. And if you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, that’s something — you haven’t had a competent quarterback that could deliver the football from the pocket in a long time, since Ben Roethlisberger,” McFarland continued.

“So in the right situation, being protected, and Arthur Smith, the offensive coordinator, calling the right plays, and everybody staying healthy, I think this team has an opportunity to get into the postseason, which gives them an opportunity to go where Pittsburgh wants to go.”

McFarland admitted that Pittsburgh is still “a long way” from being a Super Bowl contender. However, with the talent they have on defense and the Hall of Fame arm under center, it could be enough to get the team over the hump.

Aside from DK Metcalf, McFarland sees the rest of the Steelers’ skill position players as a “bunch of guys who are trying to fix it out and put it together.” Despite their new quarterback, the offensive side of the ball could be their Achilles heel in 2025.