While Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is reportedly “excited” to possibly work with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Rodgers hadn’t yet put pen to paper on a contract with the AFC North club as of Thursday morning.
During a Wednesday live stream shared on the Bleacher Report YouTube channel, NFL insider James Palmer touched upon one concern some within the Steelers have about adding Rodgers to the roster this spring.
“What’s fascinating, and talking to people in [the Steelers’ building], is how is this gonna go down if [Rodgers] does get there?” Palmer said, per Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. “Is this gonna be Aaron’s offense? Is this gonna be Arthur Smith’s offense? Both of them are very firm and very hard-headed. I don’t think Arthur’s gonna back down to him by any stretch, and maybe that’s what Aaron needs.”
While the New York Jets hired Rodgers favorite Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator before they acquired the future Hall of Famer from the Green Bay Packers in the spring of 2023, there’s no indication the Steelers will either bring Hackett in or dismiss Smith. For a mailbag published on Thursday, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic suggested Rodgers isn’t an ideal fit for Smith’s scheme.
“Rodgers attempted the second-most passes in the league in 2024 and wants to run a precise offense,” DeFabo explained. “The Steelers would pair him with an offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, who called the fourth-most runs in the league in 2024 and a receiving corps better known for its ability to catch deep balls than to run detailed routes.”
With that said, Rodgers is a 41-year-old signal-caller who has dealt with a plethora of injuries since the start of the 2022 season. Perhaps playing in Smith’s offense is what Rodgers needs to successfully extend his career for even one campaign.
“Are you gonna have Aaron’s verbiage and everybody else has to learn what he does? Or are you gonna have Aaron come in and learn what everybody else already knows, and you have one player learn the new verbiage?” Palmer added during the segment. “There are people in that building that are asking that question, that are curious how that’s gonna go down.”
The fact that the Steelers currently are on track to start longtime backup Mason Rudolph in Week 1 could give Rodgers a bit of leverage in negotiations with the organization. Then again, it’s possible he’ll spend the rest of spring waiting to hear from the Minnesota Vikings after Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah revealed on Wednesday that he hasn’t completely slammed the door shut on reaching out to Rodgers before training camp practices get underway.
