Why Steelers Fan Should Be Optimistic About the Return of Aaron Rodgers

The Aaron Rodgers conversation in Pittsburgh comes down to a comparison most casual observers haven't thought to make. The show drew the parallel that should matter to Steelers fans.

The year was 2007. The quarterback was Brett Favre. The coach was Mike McCarthy in his second year as Green Bay's head coach. Favre, at 37, had spent the previous several offseasons mostly in Mississippi. He had also, by any honest evaluation, shown real signs of decline for several seasons in a row. The will-he-won't-he dance had been running for years.

McCarthy got him in the building. Favre showed up for between nine and 12 OTAs that spring, an unusually full commitment for him at that point in his career. The Packers built around the youngest roster in the NFL. Favre came out of that season as the MVP runner-up. The team played in the NFC Championship Game.

The argument now is that McCarthy knows how to do this work because he has done it before.

"Mike McCarthy knows how to build a culture," the analysis went. "He knows how to build an offense. I guarantee you Mike dug into all the tape. Knows exactly what Aaron is. He's not the same. His legs are not the same."

The optimism is not built on pretending Rodgers will return to his peak form. He won't. His legs are not what they were. His ability to extend plays inside and outside the pocket is diminished. He has to play a different mental game now. The case for optimism is that McCarthy, of every coach in football, has the most direct experience constructing an offense around exactly that player.

The case also addresses last year. Rodgers's 2025 season was not bad. He finished 14th in passer rating, middle of the pack, while playing the bulk of the season with a shattered wrist and inside an offense he was visibly screaming at on the sideline.

This Pittsburgh team is different. The Steelers brought back veterans. They added pieces around the position. The infrastructure for Rodgers to succeed is the best he has had in five years, and the coach is the one who knew him first.

"This may well be it for Aaron Rodgers," the analysis concluded. "But in a year where the Steelers weren't going to be in position to take a first-round quarterback, you could do a lot worse than having a four-time NFL MVP coming back with a coach that he knows better than anyone, a system he knows better than any other, and coming in with this beautiful mindset that maybe just maybe there is some magic left."