Report: If talks with Aaron Rodgers sputter, Russell Wilson could return to Steelers
Steelers, Rodgers are negotiating a contract.
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On the surface, it's good that the Steelers have a pair of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks on their radar for 2025. The problem, however, is that both options are getting closer and closer to the 19th holes of their careers.
With Aaron Rodgers emerging as the top choice to become the next Pittsburgh quarterback, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports this: "It’s possible Russell Wilson could return to the Steelers if ongoing discussions with Aaron Rodgers fail to result in a financial agreement, per multiple sources."
On the surface, that's a fairly obvious statement. Yes, it's possible that a team with few other options will bring back its quarterback from 2024. Embedded within it is news: The Steelers and Rodgers are negotiating, with money currently a significant sticking point.
The Steelers could be expecting a sweetheart deal from Rodgers, given that there currently isn't a 2012 Peyton Manning land rush for his services. It's down to the Steelers or the Giants — with a weird, gnawing sense that the Vikings could be lurking.
Rodgers's best chance to cap his career with a playoff berth (he hasn't made it there since 2021) would come in Pittsburgh. Also, the fact that he gave up $35 million in his first year with the Jets might prompt the Steelers to at least try to squeeze him a little, or a lot.
Will threatening to bring back Russell Wilson make Rodgers blink? The Steelers, and everyone else, saw how that movie ended in 2024. It likely won't get better with Wilson being a year older.
But what other leverage do the Steelers have? Mason Rudolph? (Maybe they can bring back Duck Hodges, too.)
A Rodgers-Steelers arrangement makes too much sense. It appears that, in the team's view, Rodgers wants too much money.
Especially since he knows that the $33 million per year they'll be paying to receiver D.K. Metcalf will be wasted if they don't have someone who can get him the ball often enough and accurately enough to justify the investment.
