Russell Wilson to the Vikings? Aaron Rodgers retiring could doom the Steelers' 2025 season
As if the Pittsburgh Steelers' QB musical chairs of 2024 weren’t bad enough, the 2025 season appears to have disaster written all over it—all thanks to the misplaced faith in Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson.
Mike Tomlin pushed Justin Fields away
The long-standing belief as to why Justin Fields left the Pittsburgh Steelers for the New York Jets came down to, of course, the contract amount, but also the trust in whether the Mike Tomlin-led team would screw him over like they did in 2024. Fields was 4-2 when the offensive reins were pulled away and handed to Wilson last season. It was reported that many within the organization wanted to give Fields a second chance, but Tomlin's loyalty to Wilson kept the new Jets starting QB on the sideline.
Aaron Rodgers’ waiting game is risky
Waiting on Rodgers to decide on his 2025 future while lacking a true starting-caliber QB on the roster seems ridiculous on paper—and that's because it is. It was reported that the holdup was Rodgers' desire to play for the Vikings, and while he was awaiting Minnesota's answer, the Steelers were left twiddling their thumbs. Oh, and to add more salt to the proverbial Black and Gold wound, he could likely retire if he is forced to play for the Giants or Steelers.
The worst-case scenario: Wilson to Minnesota
Losing out on Fields to the Jets and Rodgers to retirement isn't the end of the world, as long as Wilson signs with Pittsburgh—right? Wrong. If Wilson signs with the Vikings, a playoff-caliber team in desperate need of a veteran presence in their QB room, the Steelers are left with Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph leading the offense in 2025. No disrespect to Rudolph, but that hypothetical offense wouldn't even be able to measure up to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2023 offense, which had Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett on it.
Steelers President Art Rooney II, GM Omar Khan, and Tomlin did this to themselves—they handed the keys to the kingdom to the wrong QB in 2024, showed their cards far too early in the offseason, and, worst of all, had zero backup plan in place if the Rodgers plan fell through. 2025 is shaping up to be arguably the worst year of the Tomlin era in Pittsburgh, and it could very well be his last season as the Steelers' head coach.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Could Steelers be without Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson in 2025?
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