The Steelers’ signature in-stadium song comes from the 1970s. Given their latest personnel move, perhaps they should swap out Renegade for a tune that was released five years earlier.
Desperado.
The acquisition of Aaron Rodgers smacks of desperation. Desperation, mainly, to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season. It is, amazingly, the longest postseason win drought for the Steelers since they first won a playoff game, in December 1972.
I’ve checked it and re-checked it. The Steelers have won postseason games in 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2015, and 2016. Before the current nine-year drought, the longest stretch between playoff wins was five years.
To try to break it, the Steelers opted not to use a first-round pick on Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough. They didn’t pick a quarterback until Will Howard in round six. This offseason was always about signing Rodgers with the goal of getting better quarterback play than what they have had since Ben Roethlisbeger retired.
The team’s position, as explained in an item on its official website makes clear, is simple. Rodgers makes the Steelers better.
Better than they were with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at quarterback in 2024. Better than they were with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph in 2023. Better than they were with Mitch Trubisky and Pickett in 2024.
Still, they had other options for getting better. This is a high-risk, all-in move. It creates a vibe that makes the team unrecognizable to many of its fans. They waited for weeks for Rodgers to show up.
What other leeway will he get? Will he have say over the offense? Will he get full freedom to call audibles? Will he once again be a de facto G.M.?
He has leverage, if he wants to use it. Beyond the desperation the Steeles exhibited by waiting for him as long as they did, his below-market contract is no different than the $35 million haircut he took with the Jets in 2023. It’s an unspoken quid pro quo.
“I did you a favor. Now you can do me a favor. Or two. Or three.”
It would be unlike the Steelers to give a player that kind of power. Then again, waiting for Rodgers was unlike the Steelers.
Which will make plenty of Steelers fans continue to pose a very simple question.
Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
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