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With the wrap-up of minicamp for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, the first official practices – and opportunities for analysts and fans – to get to see and talk to the newest quarterback to put on the black and gold, we were interested in taking the pulse to find out if the response to Aaron Rodgers‘ signing has been mostly positive.
Steven A. Smith’s take
Love him or hate him, Smith has a large audience and doesn’t shy away from sharing his opinions on much. So, what was his take on the Steelers and Rodgers making a deal for 2025?
Smith prefaced his take with, “I know Aaron Rodgers wasn’t great last year. I know Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been great over the last several years, okay?”
So, what does he think now?
What’s surprising in Smith’s short analysis on Rodgers is that he segued into talk about how the Steelers could have selected Shedeur Sanders instead. What we do know is that Sanders was not coveted by Steelers fans, based on a large selection of social media discussions ahead of and during the 2025 NFL Draft. The Steelers selected Will Howard out of Ohio State, instead.
So, is Steven A on the money with his take on Rodgers… or off the mark?
Rich Eisen’s break down on Rodgers
Eisen, an Emmy-nominated sports analyst, with his Rich Eisen Show also spoke in-depth on Rodgers. His focus was not just on the quarterback joining Pittsburgh but Rodgers’ first practice with the team since signing. Have a listen.
“Makes sense, right?” Eisen said in the middle of his segment. “This is a different organization. One that has a singular voice at the head coaching position who will not be pulled into a meeting after a week four loss and tell ’em, uh, ‘I’m not benching our 40 year old quarterback.'”
Eisen was referencing Rodgers’ past issue with Robert Selah, there, as a part of the New York Jets saga in 2024. Yes, the Steelers are a different organization, but is Eisen correct when he says he thinks the relationship between Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Rodgers is “going to be a great relationship,” or not? It certainly sounds like Eisen is leaning positive, but he also said, “This has got to work.” That is some strong foreshadowing.
Peter Schrager response
ESPN analyst and former Good Morning Football on NFL Network host ‘PShrags’ offered the following:
.@PSchrags explains why he believes the addition of Aaron Rodgers could make the Steelers Super Bowl contenders pic.twitter.com/FZZVfMqov4
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 12, 2025
Another Super Bowl Championship for Pittsburgh would be awesome, but is Schrager being too positive and optimistic?
Fan opinions
One only has to go to the comments sections beneath the Youtube videos we shared to see a mixed reaction to Rodgers’ signing. Granted, many of those comments aren’t from Steelers fans, so we’ll go to comments shared on X (formerly Twitter) by self-admitted Steelers fans.
@AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/i6oSOlHgT9
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 11, 2025
This clip had 89 comments beneath it on X. One fan (John Lopez) wrote, “Grew up a Rodgers fan, one of the greatest to play, so excited to have him on our team.” Another (KJ White) shared, “We want Rudolph and Howard.” Again, the comments from Steelers fans leaned positive, but there remained some skeptics.
A guy many of our podcast viewers should be familiar with – Zac “Flash” Celedonia (@ZeFlashNFL) – has got full Rodgers fandom on display on his timeline.
This is my new background pic.twitter.com/MZixQKnrbS
— Zac Celedonia (@ZeFlashNFL) June 12, 2025
While there appears to not be a large positive response versus negative response consensus among fans, at least at this point, there appears to be an optimistic response. Training camp may move the needle a bit more once fans can actually see the veteran quarterback in person.
Steelers fans, share your responses regarding the Rodgers signing by leaving a comment below. Are you optimistic? Do you hate the move? Let us know.
More must-reads:
- Five potential landing spots for Christian Wilkins after stunning Raiders release
- Sizzling AFC training-camp position battles
- The 'Single-season sack leaders by NFL team' quiz
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