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It’s now or never for Aaron Rodgers to win big in his ‘last dance’ | Opinion

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It’s now or never for Aaron Rodgers to win big in his ‘last dance’ | Opinion

That’s fair enough, Aaron Rodgers.

After keeping the NFL universe in suspense for a few months about whether he would return for a 22nd season – and even if you don’t agree with his timeline, you can’t deny his right to take his time in contemplating the matter – the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback at least dropped a bit of news for all the waiting in his first media session since rejoining the squad for voluntary OTAs.

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Rodgers, 42, declared that this is it. A last ride. A nostalgic rocking chair tour. A run for the roses. A final season before hanging up the spikes and embarking on another type of darkness retreat with retirement.

That it has come to this isn’t exactly breaking news. After all, he came back after thinking about retirement. Again. It would be bigger news if, six months from now, Rodgers changes his mind – like Michael Jordan, Brett Favre or Sugar Ray Leonard – and says he wants to keep playing. I mean, if he leads the Steelers to a Super Bowl crown (that’s why they play the games, silly), maybe he’d want to run it back. Or if this campaign is derailed by another early-season injury, like 2023, perhaps he could find resolve in the notion that he doesn’t want to go out like that. Remember, last year, a lot of people thought it was one-and-done for him.

In any event, Rodgers telling us on Wednesday that he is gearing up for a final season is some kind of promise. It means that Steelers Nation – and by extension NFL Universe – won’t have to go through another round or will-he-or-won’t-he drama with Rodgers next year.

So there. Promises, promises.

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Revisit Aaron Rodgers’ NFL career as he announces 22nd season

Aaron Rodgers played football at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, California from 1998 to 2001. During his junior and senior seasons as starting quarterback, Rodgers amassed 4,419 passing yards while helping the Vikings to a 17-7 mark.

Then again, it’s about the football mission. Rodgers, who passed for 3,322 yards last season (24 TDs, 7 INTs, 94.8 passer rating), has reunited with new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy and together they’ll try to recreate the magic they had a long, long time ago with the Green Bay Packers. In early 2011, the Packers won the Super Bowl with Rodgers’ arm and McCarthy’s playbook – defeating the Steelers and Mike Tomlin at that – and the following season A-Rod had one of his four NFL MVP seasons (45-6 TD-INT ratio, career-best 122.5 passer rating).

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Yes, there was some good chemistry between the QB and the coach for much of their 13 years together in Green Bay, but it all went sour and ended when McCarthy was fired after 12 games during the 2018 season.

Whatever the rift that contributed to the fallout in Green Bay is way in the rearview mirror. Sure, some may be skeptical. Yet Rodgers didn’t have to re-sign with the Steelers on a one-year deal reportedly worth $25 million. As he put it on Wednesday, the Steelers’ hiring of McCarthy to replace Tomlin was so huge.

And now, Rodgers and McCarthy need each other tremendously. Rodgers loved playing for Tomlin; their connection had developed to the point that Rodgers reportedly tearfully apologized to the coach during a team meeting when Tomlin told players he was stepping down after 19 seasons.

With Tomlin leaving, Rodgers said he thought that was it for him in Pittsburgh, too. Yet when the Steelers hired McCarthy, Rodgers said, “I started opening my mind back up to coming back.”

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After all, there’s no new offense to learn under McCarthy. Sure, there are tweaks since they last joined forces, and the supporting cast makes a difference, but it’s essentially the same system Rodgers rolled with during his heyday. That has to be enticing. And especially after trying to make do last season in the suspect scheme of since-departed coordinator Arthur Smith.

Although Rodgers said he didn’t make a final decision until after the draft – the Steelers drafted Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round, adding another developmental quarterback on top of 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard – Tomlin predicted before then that Rodgers would be back. Tomlin, speaking in his new role as analyst for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” reasoned that Rodgers loved the grind that included preparation and practices, and would be drawn back by that.

Still, Rodgers – who in Year 1 in Pitt led the Steelers to their first AFC-North crown since 2020 – is probably more motivated to try winning big one more time. Hey, it’s a challenge. The Steelers have long odds of reaching the Super Bowl, and if the last impression matters, there was the nightmarish playoff-opening loss to the Texans.

It was such an embarrassment. For the first time in a playoff game, Rodgers didn’t lead his team to a single touchdown. And his last pass was a pick-six, meaning that his last touchdown throw was an interception that sealed a 30-6 debacle.

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I’m not sure how much that last game weighed on Rodgers as he contemplated whether to come back. But apparently some of the offseason moves – they bolstered the receiving corps by dealing for Michael Pittman, Jr. and drafting Alabama’s Germie Bernard, absorbed the loss of running back Kenneth Gainwell, the team’s MVP, with free agent signee Rico Dowdle, and invested a first-round pick in tackle Max Iheanachor – offered hope.

No, the Steelers are not anyone’s Super Bowl favorites, but they don’t have to be right now. If they can field a decent team, stay competitive and build momentum down the stretch, they’ll at least have a shot.

Raise your hand if, last May, you saw the Patriots as destined to reach the Super Bowl. I didn’t think so. The point is, too many people think they can predict what’s going to happen and they’re merely guessing or trying to sound smart.

Sure, we can name some serious contenders and declare some teams that don’t have a prayer. In between, there are 20-something teams that can make a run if some good things happen for them, including breaks, the development of key players and luck. We’ve seen sixth-seeds (like Green Bay in 2010) advance to Super Bowls, so longshots do happen. And there are so many variables that can swing destiny.

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Then again, if the coming season flows like last season – the Steelers limped down the stretch and needed to survive a win-or-go-home regular-season finale against the Ravens to make the playoffs – there’s a reason to circle the Week 18 date at Baltimore.

Will that mark Rodgers’ last NFL game? Shoot, they can even flex it for another “Sunday Night Football” showcase finale.

Rodgers, of course, isn’t coming back for that type of sendoff for his last dance. He came back to make news by riding off on a much bigger stage.

Like now or never.

Contact Bell at [email protected] or follow on X: @JarrettBell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers, Steelers aim to recapture the magic before QB retires

Read the full article here

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