Ryan Clark: Aaron Rodgers, Steelers will be ‘extremely good’ in 2025

Ryan Clark is a bit more confident in Aaron Rodgers than the average analyst. Perhaps it’s due to his long history with the Steelers, but the former Pittsburgh defender turned ESPN pundit had a lot to say about the quarterback on Tuesday.

During an appearance on First Take, Clark waxed poetic about the fit of Rodgers with the Steelers. He believes that, coupled with Mike Tomlin’s expertise, Pittsburgh will shock the NFL world and rise above some recent disappointment in 2025.

“Mike Tomlin’s allergic to having a losing season. I still feel, and I’ve been saying this, Aaron Rodgers has more left in the tank than what the New York Jets stint showed us,” Clark stated. “I actually hung out a little bit with Davante Adams yesterday. We were having a conversation, and he was saying that people comparing Aaron Rodgers to some of the bottom half of the quarterbacks in the NFL have absolutely lost their mind. He said, being in that building with him toward the end of the season, you could start to see it coming back for Aaron Rodgers, the future Hall of Famer. 

“I know now with Mike Tomlin, they’re not going to ask him to be everything for this team. They’re going to simply ask him to do his job. More importantly, to do your job at a high level in the most important moments of the game. The things that Aaron Rodgers has seen more than any other starting quarterback in this league right now. 

“With what they have on defense, the stability they have at the coaching ranks — I think that this team is going to be extremely good. This will be, to me, in my opinion, the year they do win the Wild Card game and advance to the Divisional Round of playoffs.”

Of course, Rodgers’ disappointing time with the Jets is highly publicized, and he’s been aptly criticized for his role during his stint in New York. A more stable environment under Tomlin’s guidance in Pittsburgh will work wonders, per Clark.

“(Rodgers is) going into a more stable environment with a head coach who understands how to get a team prepared to play, who’s just been looking for competent quarterback play since the last couple of years of Big Ben’s tenure there,” the former Pro Bowl defender added. “The quarterback here is in a good spot. They didn’t build the team to say, ‘Aaron Rodgers, go take us to the promised land.’ They built a team that was good in many positions, and they need a quarterback to play well to make this team comfortable, to be able to make a big throw when you have time and somebody is open. 

“Aaron Rodgers can still do that without having to be the leader. Nobody in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room is looking to Aaron Rodgers for leadership. All he has to do is go be a good quarterback.”

It remains to be seen if Ryan Clark’s confidence is rewarded, but he’s a believer in Aaron Rodgers with the Steelers. Ironically enough, Pittsburgh’s first game is against the Jets in New York, so a little bit of a revenge could start their season off with a bang in Week 1.