Latest Aaron Rodgers runaround emphasizes that 2027 has to finally be the beginning of a Steelers reboot

Steelers needed to exit their velvet rut long before Aaron Rodgers showed up

If anything, all of this should just underline a reality that has been creeping toward Pittsburgh for years. Regardless of what the front office professes, or what the hiring of 62-year-old head coach Mike McCarthy suggests (or owner Art Rooney II’s dislike of the word “rebuild”), the fantasy of a half-measure pivot back into Super Bowl contention is dead. The Steelers have been in a velvet rut of being good-but-not-good-enough for the last eight years. Effectively since they put up a 13-3 record in 2017 and flopped in their divisional playoff loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Accurately reflecting on that moment in Steelers history, it was the beginning of the end for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. And the beginning of the beginning when it came to seasons that a sizable portion of the Pittsburgh fan base wanted head coach Mike Tomlin pushed out of his job. An era of the Steelers when they had some juggernaut offenses and wet tissue defenses in the best of times, or were simply mediocre all over in the worst of times.

This happens to the best of franchises, even with good coaches and stellar front offices. The iconic era San Francisco 49ers fell on hard times. The dynastic New England Patriots slammed into a wall and became a relentless soap opera (which surprisingly still hasn’t ended). Even the Kansas City Chiefs, who are now the league’s standard, got remarkably out of joint around quarterback Patrick Mahomes before his season-ending injury in 2025.

The challenge for teams is recognizing it. And then in cases when there is a tangible deficit at the quarterback spot, making the agonizing decision to rebooting everything. Maybe for a year or two — maybe for many seasons, until the quarterback deficit is realistically resolved. That’s where the Pittsburgh Steelers are right now. Muddling through an awkward, nonsensical dance with Aaron Rodgers that doesn’t really resolve the franchise’s problems in a way that puts it back on track.

Seahawks just showed us a ‘rebuild’ doesn’t need to be dreaded

The Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks just came out of this kind of decade. Rocked by a last-second Russell Wilson interception that cost them Super Bowl XLIX against the Patriots, the franchise then went on a sustained march of good-but-never-good-enough attrition. An expanse where the vaunted Legion Of Boom defense got old and aged out of effectiveness, Wilson eroded into a statistically relevant but championship-starved quarterback, and head coach Pete Carroll started to see his message go stale in the locker room. The quintessential velvet rut from 2015 to 2023: six playoff appearances in nine years with an average of nearly 10 wins per season … but not even a single conference title game to show for it.

Like Tomlin in Pittsburgh, there was enough success to make the team competitive. But never enough to rekindle the heat of back-to-back Super Bowl appearances after the 2013 and 2014 seasons. It wasn’t until an honest excavation following the 2023 season, when de facto owner Jody Allen came to the conclusion that some sweeping change was necessary. The tandem of Carroll and general manager John Schneider was no longer providing the dynamic final results that were necessary, and the roster needed significant remodeling. Following the 2023 season, Carroll was “mutually” parted with (or we can just say he was fired). Following the 2024 season, when the team finished a respectable 10-7 under new head coach Mike Macdonald, quarterback Sam Darnold was signed in free agency to a sizable deal, while aging veteran quarterback Geno Smith and his star wideout, D.K. Metcalf, were both traded.

It was a big pivot point in Seahawks history. But it came at the conclusion of a multi-year rebuild behind the scenes and throughout the roster — in which Seattle didn’t make the postseason for four straight years. Then came the sweeping 13-month hammer (from January 31, 2024 to March 13, 2025) of changing out a head coach, trading a starting quarterback and star wide receiver and signing a new franchise QB in Sam Darnold.

Lest we forget, the Steelers also had the opportunity to sign Darnold last offseason. They chose Rodgers instead. Which at least says something about how one franchise continues to be stuck in neutral and another recast itself.

To be fair, the Seahawks are not the reigning Super Bowl champion simply because they signed Darnold. He’s just a fraction of what remade that franchise over a several seasons of change. But the point is Seattle’s ownership committed to that change. It never complained about the word “rebuild.” It didn’t flinch when there was a decision to be made to jettison a longstanding head coach with a significant track record of winning. And it moved on from a historically-significant, Super Bowl winning quarterback in Russell Wilson…then moved on from Geno Smith just three years after that.

Presented with opportunities to get off the same merry-go-round of middling success that never ended with a Super Bowl, the Seahawks took some dramatic measures. And if there’s anything that Pittsburgh fans focus on right now — with Aaron Rodgers floating around doing whatever he’s doing — it should be that. Pittsburgh is in need of a real, deep, meaningful reboot. No matter if the ownership doesn’t like the description, or if the coach is in a win-now age bracket, or if a significant amount of money is tied up in aging veterans on the salary cap. Either you change the math that has led you to middle, or you linger being good enough to be nothing more than entertainment.

Cliff is coming for Pittsburgh, and managing it should be the focus

Let me leave you with this where it concerns the Steelers in general and most especially the Steelers with Rodgers …

First, the current configuration of the franchise has a limited horizon. There has been connective culture in the roster, coaching staffs and even the front office — yet it has produced just solid regular season records and nothing meaningful to show in the playoff picture. The bottom line of the ledger has been some good defenses and faltering offenses, with quarterback play that hasn’t been worthwhile in years. In a league powered forward by dynamic and elite quarterbacks, and offenses that are both creative and explosive, the Steelers are turning back to Rodgers for another season. And they’re building around that commitment with some expensive veterans.

Second, the defense — which is still the strength of the roster based on salary cap outlay — is getting old fast, with little remedy in sight. Five of the Steelers’ top seven salaries in 2026 are on defense. And of that five, the ages when the season kicks off will be as follows: Edge rusher T.J. Watt, 31 (turns 32 in October); Edge rusher Alex Highsmith, 29; cornerback Jalen Ramsey, 31 (turns 32 in October); inside linebacker Patrick Queen, 27; defensive tackle Cam Heyward, 37. In that group alone, it’s feasible that Watt, Highsmith, Ramsey and Heyward will not be on the team in 2027. Which means the defense would be effectively gutted beyond the 2026 season.

Third, the front office has a very, very real quarterback problem that amongst other franchises has typically only been resolved by stripping down the roster and suffering through a terrible (or multiple terrible) finishes in the win column. It has also missed recent opportunities to at least attempt to address that problem through the draft (when either Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough could have been selected in 2025) and also in free agency (Darnold could have been signed last offseason). Match that with missed draft choices (Kenny Pickett) and unsuccessful reclamation projects (Dwayne Haskins, Mitchell Trubisky, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson), and what you get is the current reliance on a fading Aaron Rodgers.

Finally, fourth: Look around the AFC, let alone the AFC North. It is absolutely loaded with dynamic  proven quarterbacks. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. Now add in other talented players like Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, Bo Nix and Drake Maye. That’s no less that nine teams that have remarkably better paths forward at quarterback than Pittsburgh. And it doesn’t account for the past two No. 1 picks in the NFL draft — Cam Ward and Fernando Mendoza — and veterans like Daniel Jones, Geno Smith and Malik Willis. Pittsburgh might not have the single worst quarterback outlook in the AFC, but it’s pretty close.

When you sort through all of that, it’s clear what is coming for this franchise. Whether Aaron Rodgers signs — or when he signs … or what he signs for — the cliff is coming in Pittsburgh. Either the franchise can accept that and begin preparing for a total strip-down-and-rebuild after the 2026 season, or it can continue on this path of half measures and glass-half-empty final results.

That should be the focus of the Steelers in 2026 and beyond. Not Aaron Rodgers. Wherever he is and whatever he’s planning to do.