Insider Optimistic About Steelers' Future With Rodgers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting on Aaron Rodgers to decide on his NFL future. It’s entirely possible that off-field circumstances render that decision made already, privately taking Rodgers out of the team’s plans.

But as owner Art Rooney II continues to remain optimistic and head coach Mike Tomlin entertains the idea of welcoming in a future Hall of Famer, it remains hard to imagine the next Pittsburgh team not having an esteemed veteran passer under center.

Rodgers is easily the best option at Pittsburgh’s disposal, the top quarterback in a room with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. Still, he isn’t without risk. On the wrong side of 40, Rodgers is an aging passer with an Achilles tear in his not-so-distant past and a career-worst season in the rearview mirror.

It’s easy to remain pessimistic about the team’s quarterback situation, regardless of Rodgers’ fate. At the very least, one insider isn’t. Aditi Kinkhabwala recently shared an optimistic view of Rodgers potentially signing with the Steelers and experiencing a rebound amid his farewell tour on 93.7 The Fan.

"He kept talking about feeling significantly better," Kinkhabwala said, per Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot. "I expect him to, this year, be significantly better than he was last year, physically. It's just the...added year of post-injury that should have an impact."

Part of Rodgers’ struggles last season was a lack of mobility that stunted the run game and the diminishing returns of his arm talent. If his base is truly stronger in his second year removed from surgery, his arm may look livelier than it did in East Rutherford. He’s never going to be the scramble-heavy quarterback he sometimes needed to be in Green Bay, but operating quicker and smoother out of play action bodes well for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense.

Likewise, Smith and the competence the Steelers routinely showcase is a step up from Jets football, and that could work wonders for the Canton-bound quarterback.

"There was a lot more wrong with the Jets than the play at quarterback," Kinkhabwala said. "There were a lot of limitations. There were a lot of ways that [Rodgers] was hamstrung and challenged, not the least of which was his coach getting fired out of nowhere, the offensive staff completely changing. The defense did not uphold its end of the bargain a lot."

In New York, Rodgers was a falling hero running out of time. His desperate attempt to end the Jets’ playoff drought ended in disaster. In Pittsburgh, he’d play point guard. With the floor that comes with Tomlin’s coaching and the stability of the Steelers’ core, Rodgers wouldn’t be asked to elevate the franchise.

The Steelers know it’s too late to find above-average quarterbacking for the upcoming season. But they have the tools to bring Rodgers back from the brink as they take one step closer to their next franchise quarterback.