QB · PIT · 39 yrs · exp 18 · Miami (OH)
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Josh Allen turns 30 and has achieved significant milestones in his eight NFL seasons, ranking highly in wins and touchdown passes before the age of 30. Despite his individual success and being considered one of the league's best players, the Bills have yet to surround him with enough talent to win a Super Bowl, putting increasing pressure on the organization
Aaron Rodgers is officially back with the Pittsburgh Steelers. After months of consternation about his future, in the end, all it took was a report that the Steelers were growing weary of Rodgers “will he, won’t he” routine for him to come to the party, sign his one-year deal, and cement that he’s playing in 2026. Funny how that works. This puts the whole Rodgers mess to bed, at least for another season. Now the Steelers can move ahead with some sort of certainty at the quarterback position after staring down the gun of potentially needing to start Mason Rudolph , Will Howard , or rookie Drew Allar — functionally ending the team’s season before it begins. The question now pivots to what is the ceiling of this team with Rodgers at the helm, and could this end up being a massive mistake? The question of whether or not this is the correct move is couched wholly in one incontrovertible fact: Every NFL team needs to rebuild eventually. It’s a reality the Steelers have been staving off since Ben Roethlisberger ’s retirement following the 2021 season, and to their credit, the organization has been competitive — but there’s also been a ceiling when it comes to quarterback. Whether it was Kenny Pickett , Russell Wilson , Justin Fields , or Aaron Rodgers, the team has been a consistent playoff team, but that’s where the success ends. The Steelers have been bounced in the Wild Card round during their last five playoff appearances, and you need to go back to 2017 to find the last time Pittsburgh made it out of the opening round. With the addition of Michael Pittman Jr. there’s no question this is the best receiving corps the team has had in years, and with Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle the team has a fascinating one-two punch at running back for this upcoming season. Now it’s time to talk brass tacks: Is this new-look Steelers team demonstrably better for bringing back Aaron Rodgers, and what is their ceiling? By Mark Schofield After months of speculation, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their quarterback for the 2026 season. Aaron Rodgers ended that speculation, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with the Steelers over this past weekend. Rodgers is already back at work, having been spotted inside the facility as the team opens OTAs this Monday morning. But how much does Rodgers move the needle for the Steelers at this point in his career? Based on last season, probably not much. While Rodgers represented arguably the best option for the Steelers at the most important position in the game, that is also a relative concept. After all, beyond Rodgers the Steelers were looking at second-year quarterback Will Howard, rookie Drew Allar, or longtime backup Mason Rudolph. Given that, Rodgers is the best option. But this is still a quarterback that posted an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 6.3 last year – ranking him 18th among qualified quarterbacks in the NFL – with a QBR of 44.4, which ranked him 27th in the league. When you look at Quarterback Efficiency , a metric that compares both Expected Points Added per Pass and Completion Percentage over Expectation, you see the rest of the picture. Here is that chart, courtesy of RBSDM.com : Last year Rodgers was, at best, a league-average quarterback. How much does a league-average quarterback, one year older, move the needle for the Steelers? Probably not much, in a crowded AFC field and in particular a difficult AFC North, with the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals expected to be tough opponents this year, and the Cleveland Browns coming off a very impressive offseason. What could be a saving grace for the Steelers is that the AFC North is paired with the NFC South this year for non-conference games, which could help their record a bit. But one particular stretch of their schedule stands out: A run following their bye week, which sees Pittsburgh play at Cincinnati, at Philadelphia , against Denver on a short week, against Houston, at Jacksonville , and against Baltimore. Those six [... truncated ...]
For the Cleveland Browns, the NFL draft has been a minefield of problems. Just in this century, there are clear arguments about which are the worst selections that the team has made . The Browns have made some great picks, including OT Joe Thomas and DE Myles Garrett . One “could have been” scenario in Cleveland draft history is QB Eli Manning . There have been stories about the then-Browns coach Butch Davis trying to work with Erni Accorsi to move up to the fourth pick, with a shot at moving that selection to acquire Manning. There were a lot of QBs involved in the 2004 NFL draft, including Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger , whose careers could have looked a lot different with a few moves. ( Barry Shuck broke the details down previously ) Manning spoke on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast about his decisions around not getting drafted by the San Diego Chargers, how his dad took the brunt of the blame (despite not being in favor of Eli’s request not to play for the Chargers), and other teams involved in the pursuit. As noted by Pro Football Talk , the Browns were the team that Manning’s agent expected him to be traded to: When the possibility of a trade came up, Condon told Manning the Chargers were going to trade him to the Browns, and he didn’t want to go there, either. Fortunately for Manning, ultimately the Giants and Chargers made a deal, and Manning won two Super Bowl MVPs in New York. Manning talked about what his real motivation was, including the Pittsburgh Steelers being the other team, along with the New York Giants, that he wanted to play for: In the 2004 draft, Davis ended up trading up one spot to select TE Kellen Winslow Jr. How do you think Manning’s career would have played out had Davis and the Browns been able to acquire him on draft night? Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts New, improved notifications system!
The Pittsburgh Steelers ' 111 wins since 2015 are tied for the third-most in the NFL over that span, but that success has yielded just three playoff wins, the last of which came in 2017. The lack of quarterback stability since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement has contributed to the drought, which is why just about everyone in Pittsburgh would rather spend the 2026 season watching one of its young quarterbacks, even if it means seeing the franchise's 22-year run of non-losing seasons come to an end. Instead, the Steelers once again turned to Aaron Rodgers , bringing back the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer on another one-year deal . Skepticism is understandable, but Rodgers showed enough last season to justify Pittsburgh's continued belief. He's a four-time league MVP who, at age 42, led Pittsburgh to its first division title since 2020 despite playing the second half of the year with a severely injured left wrist and the entire season with a subpar group of receivers. There's a thought that the Steelers want Rodgers back so they can finally end the playoff-win drought, even if it comes at the expense of the future. That's simply not true. Pittsburgh wants Rodgers back to address both its short- and long-term situation. Many forget that the Steelers were within a score of the Texans for most of January's wild-card playoff game before a defensive score opened the floodgates. Pittsburgh's lack of offensive weaponry -- not Rodgers -- was the biggest reason the Steelers scored just six points as their streak of seasons without a playoff win extended to nine. The loss to Houston was a grim reminder that a 42-year-old quarterback cannot shoulder the burden of carrying an offense, which Rodgers often did during his first season in Pittsburgh. Tom Brady proved multiple times that a 40-something quarterback can win a Super Bowl , but they need a supporting cast. The Steelers' roster isn't perfect, but it should put Rodgers in more advantageous situations than last season. He may still be asked to put on his Superman cape occasionally, but not nearly as often. Rodgers' return gives rookie third-round pick Drew Allar and pseudo-rookie Will Howard a year to learn from one of the best to ever do it. That is undoubtedly one of the reasons Mike McCarthy, who took the job with complete knowledge of the quarterback situation, wants Rodgers to be part of his first team in Pittsburgh. The real benefit of having Rodgers is the hope that he can still be Superman in pivotal moments, a la Brady in 2018 and 2020 and John Elway in 1997 and 1998. Rodgers showed he is still capable of rising to the moment (see his game-winning touchdown pass against the Ravens in Week 18), which is why the Steelers want to run it back with him. It's also clear the Steelers feel they have, and are continuing to build, a team capable of helping Rodgers cap off his stellar career with another Super Bowl win. Bringing Rodgers back for another year isn't pushing off the inevitable or a desperate attempt to win a playoff game. It's a sound, logical decision from a franchise that clearly believes in its players, its chances of winning in 2026, and its own ability to identify, mold and develop its eventual long-term quarterback, whoever that may be. Pittsburgh possesses a considerably improved roster, especially with the acquisition of Michael Pittman Jr. and the draft selection of Germie Bernard . The Steelers also beefed up their backfield by signing Rico Dowdle , a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the past two years. Perhaps most importantly, the Steelers assembled what should be their best offensive line since 2020. They whiffed on drafting wideout Makai Lemon in the first round but pivoted to Max Iheanachor , a freakishly athletic offensive tackle who did not allow a single sack during his final season at Arizona State. Iheanachor and fourth-round pick Gennings Dunker could be the final pieces of an offensive line headlined by several other promising players, includi [... truncated ...]
With the NFL schedule officially released tonight, it got me thinking about which games I would like to attend. That thought quicky trailed to games I have attended and finally to the question of the day: Which one was most unforgettable? For me, it would have to be Jay Cutler’s first game at Soldier Field as starting QB for the Bears. I was living in Denver at the time and like most of you, remember where I was and what I was doing when news broke of Jay Cutler being traded from the Denver Broncos to the Chicago Bears. I was ecstatic. Unable to reach out to all my friends and family because I was working as an EMT at the time, I had to resort to talking with local Broncos fans in various hospitals about the news. Doctors, nurses, firefighters and the like. To say our reactions were polar opposites would be an understatement. Jay was just 26 years old coming off a Pro Bowl season and universally considered one of the top young QBs in the entire league. Easily the most physically talented with the most potential of any QB that Chicago had ever had in my lifetime and we somehow landed him. I was fortunate enough to land tickets to the home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20th, 2009 with my cousin who was and is to this day a massive Steelers fan. Chicago was 0-1 after the week 1 loss to Green Bay . Pittsburgh was 1-0 after an overtime win against the Titans and had an elite offense led by Ben Roethlisberger , Santonio Holmes , Rashard Mendenhall and Hines Ward. And we won. Pittsburgh went up 7-0 early with a TD catch by Matt Speath, but Chicago would respond with a TD pass to our own backup TE, Kellen Davis . After a Big Ben TD run, Smokin’ Jay would find Johnny Knox for another score to even the lead with 6 minutes left in the game. Pittsburgh would drive down the field and reach the 25 yard line but kicker Jeff Reid would miss the go ahead FG with 3 minutes to play. And then Jay took over much like we have seen Caleb Williams do in his young career thus far. Jay drove us down the field all the way to the Steelers 26 yard line, thanks in large part to his dual threat RB Matt Forte , to give Robbie Gould a chance for the game winner with just 20 seconds on the clock. Robbie nailed it. Good as Gould. Bears safety Craig Steltz would recover a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Cutler would kneel the ball to ice the game. Bears win 17-14. I will never forget staying in my seats long after the stadium was empty, soaking in the atmosphere in a back and forth nail biter even though I am sure it doesn’t compare to any of the close games we witnessed this past season. That said, it was pretty cool to see Jay Cutler’s first game as a Bear in Chicago. And even cooler I got to experience it with my cousin. Definitely something I will never forget
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