NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Why the Steelers Should Not Sign Aaron Rodgers

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Dave Dameshek to tell you why the Steelers shouldn't sign Aaron Rodgers. Reasons include, Rodgers is not that good anymore (07:00), is a weird fit in the Steelers offense (17:25), would make Steelers nation miserable (29:45), would get in the way of developing a rookie (36:50), and more!    Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're just hoping Pittsburgh Steelers can win another playoff game under Mike Tomlin before we all do. Hi, I am Greg Rosenthal. I'm in the garage today, and I'm talking to my friend who's across town, and who better to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers with and their potential quarterback pickup than Dave Damashik.

My friend, you know him, you love him from The Sheck Show. It's on YouTube, on podcasts, also making some dynamite YouTube videos with the Levitard show. What's up, Sheck? Well, what's up is the waiting game. You know, Art 2, Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, everybody else, apparently on the banks of the three rivers or some at least willing to debase themselves to see if a 42-year-old weirdo decides he maybe doesn't want to move to one of the two Twin Cities, rather that the head coach in one of those two Twin Cities doesn't want the 42-year-old man joining the 30 teams in the QB League who have rendered the opinion. that this particular QB isn't of interest to them. You understand everybody wants good QBs in the QB League.

30 teams, or at least 29, have officially issued their lack of interest in this guy. Deja vu, one year ago, last March, there were two teams, and only two teams who looked at 36-year-old washed-up weirdo Russell Wilson. Instead, that guy could be our starting quarterback this year. Those two teams were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants. We saw how that turned out. Hey, did you enjoy that? Rerun, sequel.

Now let's chase an even older washed up weirdo, who is someone else's legend, someone else's icon. Let's see if we can get him to come play mercenary for the esteemed brand that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. or are we now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? I can't really tell the difference. So that's how I'm doing. Wow. Sheck coming in hot.

You know, usually you kind of just dip your toe in into the water. And we're just right in. And yes, this is a one-issue show. Kind of like a one-issue election or candidate. And the issue is why the Steelers should not sign Aaron Rogers. And as we're getting closer, we're planning to maybe do this, put it out. Next week, we better put this thing out before. it actually happens because I know we have a lot of pull inside the Steelers building.

You certainly do, Sheck. And so I actually made a list of just the reasons why the Steelers should not sign Aaron Rogers. And hopefully they're listening. And some of them are, and you just got to some of them. But man, calling him a weirdo right off the top. That's, that's not nice. I mean, listen, the guy who is, it's not nice, also not nice, is trying to.

wreck the franchise for whom you toiled for 15 some years on your way out the door. Failed in that endeavor, then went to the Jets and succeeded. Yeah, of course we want him in Pittsburgh. Why wouldn't you want Aaron Rogers 42 years old? I mean, the guy who points fingers at everybody, but the man in the mirror, this is, of course, the guy who in his last 25 games has turned the ball over 34 times, but hasn't been. into a Super Bowl, since the Steelers were in a Super Bowl, certainly is the solution to what ails this franchise right now, right?

Well, they're desperate, and I'm hinting at that, how I opened the show, and I think this record is a little underrated. The amount of attention that the Tomlin over 500 record gets, or 500 or better, which is impressive. I mean, it really is. Absolutely, and I resent when people try to marginalize. It's awesome. The significance in the free agency.

era of always having a winning record, even when Duck Hodges is your starting quarterback. Giving your team and your fans something to look forward to in terms of meaningful games all season long, like that is a great starting point of what you should be trying to accomplish. And they do that. But the 0 and 6 record in his last six playoff games, and I'm kind of stretching it here because the last AFC championship game they were in, I was at. It was kind of a forgettable game. I don't think people really remember the 2016 AFC championship game. It was the last game I was at Gillette Stadium for too. It was

36 to 9 at one point, I believe. I think the Steelers tacked on a late. There was some late scoring, but it was not competitive and they have not won a game since. I don't know if you want to call it the curse of Rosenthal or what, but they've been in, I believe, five playoffs since. They haven't won any of them, and

adding Aaron Rogers to the mix doesn't seem like you're going to be raising the ceiling. I'm getting ahead of myself. I just like to get in the way back machine. I do remember. The two things I remember primarily from the 2016 title game. Well, the third one is that Rathusberger took his customary deep shot on the second play of the game.

That's the way he always rolled in big spots and missed to Sammy Coates. He couldn't wrangle. He dropped a dime to Sammy Coates. It was downhill from there. Chris Hogan running all by himself. Like no one on the screen with Chris Hogan, the Steelers decided not to cover him that day. And so he thrived. And then three, that was the game where we got a cameo from Levi and Bell because he was upset at the Steelers for his overusage in his opinion in the freezing temps in KC the week before.

I think he had 40 touches and that grinded out game. and he was wrong, he had a bad groin. The Steelers said, ah, you're okay to go. He thought otherwise. So he mysteriously, he just couldn't play after a couple of plays there and then never took the field again for the picks. Well, he took the field again for the pick. That was the start of the, really how we got to this place to some degree.

Yeah, a team in the Steelers that always figures out a way to look better early in the season. generally than they do late, at least that's lately, and always finds a way to get into the playoffs, but I've occupied a very specific spot lately, which is if you're power ranking the teams entering the playoffs, they're always in the bottom three. And then they don't really even compete in those games. And the one year where they looked pretty good was the COVID year. And then that fell apart late. And actually, by the time they got to the playoffs, you were expecting them to lose. And they did lose. So Aaron Rogers does not seem like the guy to turn it around.

I'm going to start going through my list. I don't know if you got numbers or you want to just bounce off what I'm saying, well, this is the most important one. Go ahead. He's not that good anymore. That's the most important one. Forget about the weirdo. Forget about everything.

I'm going to give you some stats. Among qualifiers in completion percentage over expected, which is a stat I don't always trust, but it matched up what I watched when I went back, and I decided to go watch some Roger, because everyone was saying, oh, he looked pretty good at the end of the season. I do remember that. I went back and luck.

He was 34th out of 36 in terms of his accuracy, in terms of what you would expect. And when I went back to watch the games at the end of the season, that was what stuck out to me the most. He just wasn't very accurate. And people who are smarter than me that get into mechanics say,

the mechanics were always a little funky and now he can't make up for it because he's not as athletic as he used to be. And he's taken more sacks, certainly. And a lot of the advanced numbers aren't really good EPA. It's really bad. He can't throw intermediate.

But the main thing that I was taken away was he's got a big arm and you see the flashes. If you were evaluating him as a person, him as a prospect. You'd be like, oh, we got something to work with here. There's some nice throws in. But he just doesn't hit the target. And it's now three years running. You go back to Green Bay and obviously the lost jet season and this jet season, that he just hasn't been that good anymore. If you're ranking him among all starting quarterbacks or quarterbacks,

he's probably in the mid to low 20s, if I had to guess, which is like he probably is one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the league. So it kind of doesn't shock me. He's going to wind up with the starting job, assuming the Steelers get him, but he's just not good. I'd put him right around where Russell Wilson is, maybe a little above. I guess that's how they're convincing themselves. It's a good idea. Right, but does that result in any realistic journey to the Super Bowl? Of course, it doesn't. You know in the AFC as it's constituted that Aaron Rogers, this version, Aaron Rogers, has no chance of getting him to a Super Bowl beyond some miracle. I think, that's part of the issue. Tomlin has imposed some sort of Stockholm syndrome on a percentage of

the Steelers fans, which is the people who buy that Aaron Rogers, hey, listen, he's our best bed here, just like Russell Wilson was their best bed here. And it is, we can find a relevant QB on the sales rack at T.J. Max. And that's just not a serious approach. to solving the one position that matters in the QB league. And I think that you mentioned what he has been able to do. And it is the paradox of Mike Tomlin, which is, I don't think maybe Andy Reid, maybe Kyle Shanahan,

but it's a very short list of possibilities of who could keep a team without a franchise QB playoff relevant And every year since Rathusberger hurts his elbow in week two against Russell Wilson Seahawks, from that moment on, Comlin assumes this posture of like, I can grind it out, I can win more games than I lose by a final score, no matter who we're playing of 12 to 11, it will land us at 9 and 8, 10, and 7 consistently. And then that becomes about something other than the point of pro football. And I listened to his advocates, Tomlin's at this point.

The people who, when pressed on this, team leader, Cam Hayward, why is Tomlin so great? Why does everybody want to play for him? And it's these things that sound good on a human level. He looks you in the eye, even if he has bad news for you. He gets the best version of you out there between the lines for every game. He respects you as a man and he approaches you from that. These are things that you want in your life. if you want somebody who is honest and all of that.

But it's pro football. And I'm not trying to sound like a hardo, but I keep going back to like, this is the stuff that you hear in praise of David Shaw at Stanford or Bob Knight at Indiana. Like, he teaches you lessons that extend beyond the game. It's about how you live your life and all of that. And it's like-

But don't you think that's why they're over 500? There's no other explanation. I think that is his secret sauce to getting them to this point. It only takes you so far. You've got to have better players. Yeah. But otherwise, they would be 6 and 11. Right.

The approach has resulted in. It's hard to argue against. It has resulted in. I've heard Tomlin say, like, people, you think I don't want to win every game 30 to nothing? Yes, Coach, I know you would like that, but you don't provide the landscape that would make that something that happens on a regular basis. That's not how you approach the games. And so everything pivots off of that. And for the record, since this is a national conversation, I think that I would be willing

to bet that some percentage of your audience still believes that Tomlin is to a degree sort of handed a roster by Omar Khan or whoever else. This is Tom. Tomlin is the architect of this. The Khan is the executor of what Tomlin wants. he makes the deals, the works, the numbers, and everything else. But make no mistake of who is in charge of personnel. And so when people express some sort of some sort of pity like Tomlin, what's he supposed to do?

Look what he does with those rosters. He's the one making those rosters. Yes, that's a great point to make. And I think everyone that follows them locally has been saying that more lately and you saying that. And it's a great thing to keep in mind because you've banged on about and I think it's right on. that, you know, for all the credit he got for trust in his gut, and that's why I make a lot of money to start Russell Wilson. By the end of the season, Russell Wilson collapsed pretty hard,

and they decided Justin Fields was the better option for 2025. And if Justin Fields hadn't gotten such a great offer from a young new coaching staff in New York, he would be their starting quarterback. That's who they wanted, but they didn't want to go as far financially, and now they're in this spot. So it wasn't a good move. I think you made a great point, first of all, about Aaron Rogers and how Justin Fields lands with the Jets, and it's part of a bigger issue. But it's the New York Jets, everybody.

We understand them to be pathetic. We all agree. They looked at Aaron Rogers. They were steeped in the Aaron Rogers experience for the last two years and said, no thanks. We're done with it. And now, here we are. And as far as the Justin Fields contract from the Jets goes, it is. spot on to, I mean, to the dime, if I understand what the numbers are, exactly what I said

it was going to be in guaranteed money and term and everything else. And people scoffed in November when I said that. But it's exactly how it goes because that's the rate you pay for a viable option at quarterback for an intermediate term length and intermediate level quarterback. And it all sort of hinged on the idea that Mike Tomlin and other ones, and the Steelers like, well, you're not going to go to the Jets over the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers. Like, if you're Justin Fields, what evidence is there that the Steelers are a better situation? You can't lean on the history. Like, oh, do you think Justin Fields or any 25-year-old in the league cares about the many

Lombardi trophies in the Steelers building? I don't think that has nearly the cachet that apparently some seem to seem to seem to. And also, empirical evidence matters. It's not just the Jets. Maybe the Vikings, we have to wait and see. And that's, I'm sure we're going to get to that. But why hasn't Aaron Rogers signed yet? One of two reasons is, to me, all the other pap out there is about him being a weirdo.

And when I say weirdo, he's a different kind of weirdo than Tom Brady is. Tom Brady was a weirdo who was obsessive about his profession, so much so that it cost him his superstar. I mean, his supermodel wife. That's how dedicated to football he was. I don't get the sense that Aaron Rogers is that committed to pro football. And if you remove the brand name, it seems to me that at least 29 teams out there, maybe 30 if we include the Vikings in this, because they don't know exactly where J.J. McCarthy is in his progress. And if he's physically ready to roll in September, if he is, then I think they are going to fully cut bait. And then the pathetic Steelers will say,

we still got the spot for you, Aaron, if you want to come here. Never mind the fact that at least 29 and maybe 30, like I say, teams in the QB league have looked at this particular QB and reached the same conclusion that you have. He's not good anymore. He's not a difference maker. It's just embarrassing. And I keep making this analogy, and I'm going to make it again for you.

Mike Tomlin has assumed this weird posture that he is now sliced alone trying to cobble together another sequel to the Expendables movie franchise. You know, he got, now, last year he got Dolph Lundgren, aka Russell Wilson. Now he's after some other washed up old action star

to show everybody that they still have some juice. Now, come award season, then when they hand out the Academy Awards or Lombardi, the Steelers aren't going to be relevant for that, but they can still make some hay at the box office. That seems to be Tomlin's approach that like, let's prove everybody wrong. I have a chip on my shoulder and so do you, Russell Wilson, or is it now Aaron Rogers? Either way, let's show everybody. And it will work to the extent that they are 9 and 8 or 10 and 7 or maybe even 11 and 6. It matters. It's completely or not. Or not. To me, the best case scenario, and this is number six on my list, I got seven numbers,

is that it's actually not that great. Like, the best case scenario is similar to last year on balance, whereas the worst case scenario is like, this ends Tomlin's streak and exposes what's been going on the last few years, which is a little bankruptcy of ideas on offense. And that's my number two, like, reason is that he's a weird fit with Arthur Smith and the Steelers, I think. Like he's taking a lot of sacks over the last few years. And so that was one of the things he was really excellent at most of his career.

He was sacked 40 times last year. His pressure to sack rate was pretty high. So when he got pressured, he tended to sack. Like people were saying he played great late in the year. And I'm watching that Rams game where they just can't finish a drive. And it was one of the worst sack fumbles of his entire career. It's in a 9-9 game. And he's just holding on to the ball for like five.

seconds. He was sneaky in a good situation late last year with the Jets. I know the coaching you could question, but he was kind of the coach. The offensive line was great. I watched, I watched that game. And like, they protected him really well against the Rams who have a really, you know, great pass rush. Their offensive line was pretty dynamite by the end of last year. And they had Breesaw at running back. Garrett Wilson at receiver. Devante Adams. And you think, well, he's not totally on the same page and figuring out. Like, he's so smart. He sees it one way his receiver seat at the other. The receiver he had the most problems with

was Devante Adams. There couldn't have been more like miscommunications, misconnections, off target throws where Adams is going one way. And I know Adams was new to the team too, but it just is a weird fit, I think, if you put him with Arthur Smith. You get a lot of different opinions on Arthur Smith,

but there are a lot of people that say, look at the numbers. It's been a little while since Arthur Smith's really gotten the running game going, which is supposed to be what he does well. And they do have a good young offensive line for the Steelers. I think that's one thing you can be excited about. But he's a weird fit with the two wide receivers. I don't even know if Pickens is going to be on their team. Jeremiah's kind of

thrown it out. He thinks he might get traded over the draft. And I was like, oh, that does kind of make sense. But he's a weird fit because Rogers, if he does one thing well now, it's get rid of the ball quickly. It's the quick game. It's rhythm and timing and throwing the ball. Because once he holds the ball forever, if there's any pressure, he doesn't want to throw it deep. He gets a little skittish and he just throws the ball away. So a weird fit with Arthur Smith, I think. Of course, that is accurate. Quickly, you name drop Daniel Jeremiah, a big fan of his,

and big fan of his new show around the draft 40s and what's it called? 40s and free agents, yes, yes. 40s and free agents, whatever. No, it really is. It has jumped to the very top of my list of shows. If you are interested in draft talk, it is, those things tend to be a pretty, pretty dower conversations evaluating 20-year-olds as though anybody knows anything about these people and talking about the sand in his pants and all

that kind of stuff. This is the exception to that. If you are interested in draft talk, I recommend that. Thank you. We got a show tomorrow. We got your buddy MJD on it, too. First time we've had a guest. Is that right? A long time.

I'm available. Fantastic. We got you today. Fantastic, Dave Damashek football program. Well, Maurice is the best. Yeah, so have fun with him and send him my best. But it's funny you mentioned the Arthur Smith thing because is he a fit for the offense? Is it to some extent sincerely rendered moot by what Arthur Smith or Mike Tomlin wants to do? I mean, that was sort of the headache down the stretch with Russ was getting frustrated by what

what Arthur Smith obviously handed down for Mike Tomlin, how Mike Tomlin wants to approach the game. Russ was vexed by that. Do you think Aaron Rogers is not going to put his sauce into the mix here with what he wants to do? And sincerely, like this, I really do wonder, it's gotten so pathetic that they're willing to wait him out. And my hypothesis is, as I say, it's one of two things.

Either he has heard from Kevin O'Connell. I have to see J.J. McCarthy up close and a fair amount of him to really evaluate where he is because I like where our roster is for 2025. And I don't want to ghost that roster if J.J. McCarthy isn't ready to go. So I think that's one possibility. But the other one is, I think it's the more likely thing is. Especially given Art to Art Rooney saying that we're going to wait a little longer, not much longer, but things are looking good. What I imagine he is telling you is Pat McAfee has a live show next Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

You know, Pittsburgh's son, Pat McAfee coming back, prodigal son, big celebration and everything else. As you may have noticed, Aaron Rogers is his most prominent regular. guests. And so it wouldn't surprise me if at least Aaron Rogers, maybe the Steelers too, but probably mostly Aaron Rogers, understands the value in the laundering that McAfee introducing him would provide. I was just in Pittsburgh over the weekend and bounced off of all range of people. And I kept making some jokes here and there about like I was saying like any update on Rogers is he signed yet so whatever I would say about that and I mean consistently to whomever I was talking bartenders old people young people everybody's

responsible please don't let that happen this is so embarrassing this is so ridiculous so I think Rogers although he's a little deluded I think deep down he understands that he that there's value in that I understand the value for McAfee as a brand and as a show what it does to sort of bring in under your wing the new starting quarterback for your hometown football team. That's obvious to me. The only thing I don't fully understand is what the Steelers get out of this. Is there a Super Bowl run in the offing if you bring in this 42-year-old guy? Absolutely not given the rest of the contenders in this.

So then really, what is the goal other than providing some tepid, Mike Tomlin always says we don't seek comfort. This is a mild form of comfort that the head coach will gain from if he can say like, we'll win 10 and 7 and we want a playoff game with Aaron Rogers. What that amounts to in the bigger picture is unclear to me. In fact, it's quite clear to me. It's meaningless. It is a meaningless achievement if they win a playoff game.

So why would you do this? Why would you bring in a mercenary? like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might. And again, the bigger picture is maybe it would be worth it if in football terms purely, if you heard that, let's say, Tennessee and Indianapolis and anyone else who Cleveland needed a quarterback

was looking at this guy. These are professional talent evaluators as well. And they all have said no, but you know better? Color me skeptical. Especially since you've, didn't know two years ago that Mason Rudolph, much mocked now as the potential starter, was the best option between Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Rudolph. They didn't know that

until they just got so desperate. They were like, throw him in there. And then he lit it up in the short term. I don't think he's taking them to a Super Bowl ever, but at least either, but at least you don't debase yourself in the process of bringing in a mercenary, someone else's legend. Yeah, that's my number five is, hey, you've kind of always wanted to just try out Mason Rudolph, haven't you? I feel like for some reason, there's like some deep down part of Tomlin that you're talking about that wants to prove everyone wrong, and they've always liked Mason Rudolph. It's like, you don't think I could go nine and eight with Mason Rudolph?

I absolutely could. So just give it a shot. I agree with you, by the way, on the theory of why it's held up. I think they must just feel and Rooney. I think let the cat out of the bag that for all intents and purposes he is their quarterback. If you look at their over under wind total, it's pretty high

it's eight and a half. Like that seems to think that they think Rogers. I mean, not that they know anything but just that the McAfee announcement would be interesting because I don't know how that would go. You might get some booze in the crowd. I don't need like

I think that's his best shot though, right? Yeah, it would be as well you don't have to have a public appearance. You just do a a press conference, you just do a normal signing. But yes, he might win him over that way. They actually, I believe, addressed that and kind of made a joke out of it, as if we have so much power to unveil it. But we'll see. Next week, that's partly why I wanted to get this show in. Let's take a quick break. And I do want to remind people, yeah, check out the Sheck Show on YouTube. He also gave a very touching thank you to the NFL billionaires out there. That's

connected to the Levitard show, which was really excellent. So find that on his socials. We will take a quick break, and we're going to finish out all of these reasons. Why, Aaron Rogers, if you're listening, just don't do it. You could retire. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh my.

We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner

of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com NFL now to learn more. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't

find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups. and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level,

we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast.

Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Back on NFL Daily,

Pittsburgh's favorite son, Dave Damasek. A lot of Pittsburgh really has more, you know, great people from it than you would expect. I mean, I say favorite son and my friend Anthony Jasselnick's from there. You mentioned McAfee. I mean, what great to my, Michael, Michael Chabon, the great author for some reason comes to mind because of the book, Mysteries in Pittsburgh. Yes.

Who am I forgetting here? The greats. I mean, the inventor of the Ferris wheel. It's the home of the first big radio station in the world. Dr. Thomas Starsel began transplant surgery on the banks of the Three Rivers. Gene Kelly every or an outsized percentage

of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Marino names there we go there we go Kelly and it goes on and on and as you say it took you a while

took you a while but there that was who I yeah that was who I was dark times by the way we might be having this conversation and this sounds hyperbolic this may be the darkest time on the banks

of the three rivers in the last half century in sports terms. The pirates are bad. The penguins are bad. The Steelers are about to on purpose sign Aaron Rogers when no one else outside of the New York football giants are willing to give them a look. Pit basketball and football are in bad spots. This may be it.

This may be it. What's the worst time? Boston sports would be, you had some good baseball team. The Red Sox were good in the mid-80s and the Celtics were obviously great. It would probably be... Early 90s, which is my peak adolescence. There was no real championship contenders for a while. And, you know, those Patriots teams were generally horrible.

The Celtics were in a weird spot. But yeah, you mentioned it, though. But it will get worse because if you sign Aaron Rogers, actually now this whole above 500 every season streak could end. So it's so funny that you think signing Aaron Rogers will propel them to their first losing. I think so because of my point number three. I said he was a weird thing. It's crazy, but I don't disagree.

I'm just saying, consider what you're saying. Aaron Rogers, the guy who hasn't been to a Super Bowl in 15 years, but nevertheless, is held up by me. By the way, October of 2010, before you and I had ever met each other, I went into public forums, I went on television and otherwise. This is in advance of Super Bowl 45, then beating the Steelers in that Super Bowl. I said Aaron Rogers will go down as the greatest quarterback of all time. He is certainly right now, to my eyes, the most talented quarterback I've ever seen.

And he went on from there, and he has had probably two of the five or six best single seasons in the Super Bowl era for a quarterback. Two of those five or six belong to Aaron Rogers. And yet you are saying here and now that he would be the reason, the primary reason, why they wouldn't meet the standard that Tomlin always meet. That's wild. He's turning 42. That's it. And you look at the last three seasons, and they had a losing record.

With Matt Lafleur, I think we recognize is a good coach. They had some offensive weapons. Rogers was coming off those MVP's. They had a losing season, and that was the season that reminds me, a lot of Russell Wilson's last season in Seattle, where I started banging the drum. He's not the guy that he used to be, and he was that way in Green Bay. So is he still better than some quarterbacks out there? Sure.

But if Dickens is on this team, like his next best receivers are Calvin Austin and Scotty Miller and Roman Wilson and Ben Scoronic. And then the reason why I think they might have the losing record is an important one. Point number three, he would just, he'll make you miserable. That it won't be fun. Life is meant to be fun.

And the entire Jets experience for everyone in that building, and all their fans was not fun. The last year in Green Bay, maybe the last few years, even when he was winning MVP, but especially the last year, it wasn't fun. And life is short.

And if you give me Mason Rudolph and Jackson Dart or whoever you want to say, Will Howard or Tyler Shugge, you just want to give some third round pick a shot. I don't really get, I'm not really up on, you know, forcing it too early, but you want to go Rudolph and,

that might be fun. But I don't think Aaron Rogers is going to be fun. I think I'll go more extreme than I think most people will. The starting position for a lot of people with the Steelers is they're so far away from being contenders and everything else. And I refer you to the Washington commanders at this time a year ago. They were a punchline and they got their quarterback and voila. They're in the title game. You know, then you get into, well, you can't just take a quarter.

back and expect that result. But of course, who regarded Jaden Daniels as that level of transformative a year ago in the Drake May and Caleb Williams discussion? Now, Cam Ward doesn't rise to that level. Ask Daniel Jeremiah like I did, where is Cam Ward in comparison to the 24 QB class? He said he probably slots alongside J.J. McCarthy and Michael Pennix, which sounds like he's to a degree denigrating Cam Ward, but you would take either one of those options in Pittsburgh right now, obviously. And I don't think they're going to do it realistically. But if we have decided that if Mike Tomlin has decided to pursue an avenue that if, for lack of a better way of saying, it feels unstealerie and in a bad thing,

then why abide by stuff like, Well, our franchise guys only wear black and gold. Then trade T.J. Y. Then, I mean, for real. And I'm not just saying that in a cavalier. Like, you know, all sacred cows are out now. But legitimately and practically, you're nowhere without the quarterback. As the 23 commies and then the 2024 commies just proved how much that one cat walking through the door when he is the guy.

what a difference that can make, you should be swinging, and this is the Greg Rosenthal approach to finding your quarterback. You got to keep taking the swings. You know who else lives that way? Sean McVeigh and Les Sneed. They did it that way. They drafted Jared Gough. They paid Jared Gough. That was a mistake. So they traded Jared Gough and got another franchise QB. They won the Super Bowl. The problem was they had to give away all those draft picks. Well, they've screwed themselves. They made a deal of the devil to get that one Lombardi for relevance in pro football, in tough football town. Los Angeles, they want to draw fans, but this, look at that. They got the Lombardi, but now they're going to be lost at sea for a decade.

No, they had a down year, and now they're right back into contention. You are limited only by your lack of willingness to take some swings. Do what it takes to go get Cam Ward. And by the way, the comp I have for Cam Ward that I took to your pal, Daniel Jeremiah when he was on Sheck's show was, tell me what you think of this. He is, he's going to go to Tennessee, you assume. He is the exact physical dimensions of Steve McNair and Jake Locker, two other first round draft picks of the Tennessee Titans.

I mean, they are like within a couple of pounds, the three of them, when they were drafted, the measurables are like within three pounds of each other and they're the same height and they're the same Husky build and they both got, they all three had those big whips and they all three could run and it shows you how difficult it is

to evaluate these guys because Steve McNair has a borderline Hall of Fame career and Jake Locker washes out from injury, which is Cam Ward. I don't know. It takes me back to the Greg Rosenthal approach of, you got to just keep taking swings.

You got to keep taking them. And I think they will. I think the, if it's funny, you mentioned the Rams, because I actually think the Rams might be looking at the Steelers, and I don't know if they love Jackson Dart or Shudur if he falls, but I'd feel like those are two of the most likely teams to take a quarterback or even to move up for a quarterback in that middle to later portions of the round.

And it's because I think the Rams see, they just went through it with Stafford, he is very much year to year, and I think they do want to start planning because they know they want to keep taking swings. So I wouldn't be surprised if the Steelers took Dart or Sanders, if he somehow got past the Saints, I don't think that's going to happen. I don't think he's going to go that long in the draft. Or Jackson Dart, or who knows,

maybe someone will fall in love with Milro. Maybe the Steelers will. But either way, Rogers doesn't fit with all that. And so that's my number four, which is he will get in the way of a rookie. And it feels like they should just give a shot to a rookie. And it does, I know like you wasted time on Kenny Pickett, but you get a year with this rookie.

and if you don't love them, like, just take another one next year, too, in the first or second round. Because of Tomlin, you're probably never going to be picking that high in the first place. I think you're right. And I think when I talk about limited by your own imagination or whatever, your own will, I think that the Kenny Pickett experience maybe does get in their way of doing that. Like, let's take a shot. I wonder if that's a thing. But, you know, I want to go 15 minutes back to your point about just quickly about Aaron Rogers being a fit with Arthur Smith. The joke I was going make but legitimately does Mike Tomlin say like we're the Steelers and we're not going to completely debase ourselves we're not bringing in Alan Lazard and we're definitely not bringing

in Nathaniel Hackett to be your caddy or to supplant Arthur Smith on any level I legitimately wonder if that kind of stuff is like if if Aaron Rogers has finally come to Jesus at least enough to say like okay I can't just dictate what's going to happen and as far as that goes hey when Tomlin or whoever says, like, we want to look at the rookie here. How easily does Rogers, you know, sit, take a seat and assume the backup job? But to your point about- Never. The second part, never. I think maybe he sees the reality of this situation in a way because, like, he has to be

a little humble. I think that's the appeal. In fact, and he says they yanked Justin Fields at four and two to ride with the vet. Obviously, Mike Tomlin is not inclined to do that to me for a real. rookie if you're Aaron Rogers and you're sort of thinking through all that but the other thing quickly is I agree I am glass half full on the trajectory of the offensive line as a as a collective it has been bad and they have really with Andy Weidel done their best to address it over the last couple of drafts and and have except at least now I am no O-line expert but Broderick

Jones with, I think he was, what was he, the 14th pick, 15th pick, wherever he was, has been a bust based on performance to this point. They've moved him around. He's going to be on the left side, if, major if, but if he does in year three start to approach that, that offensive line's going to be a position of strength and who's ever behind it, whether it's Mason, Rudolph, or Aaron Rogers, or a rookie, I think we agree. The number one factor in determining a quarterback's performance. More than the coach, more than the receivers, more than the, if it's a dome or if it's rainy or anything else is the quality of the offensive line. If you keep any of the 35 or 40 best quarterbacks on the planet clean, if you give them an extra couple of beats, they're

probably going to be effective. So I think somebody stepping in there has a chance. Where Aaron Rogers, though, specifically is he's like you say, not a great intermediate throw. Get the ball out of his hands quick. Okay. But if it's all about the Arthur Smith offense, run the ball, run the ball, run the ball with a couple of tight ends and then hit those deep shots. That was the whole simplest, you know, a rudimentary Steelers offense a year ago with Russell Wilson. If it's, well, Aaron Rogers hitting those deep shots to those big wide receivers to decay

and pickings and some speed out there and everything else, like Browder & Jones better be good. I mean, he better to hold up because Aaron Rogers is a mortal human being. I think he sometimes maybe forgets that. is, in fact, a mortal human being. And I've talked to a lot of quarterbacks over the years, and I ask him this question. Because when Blaine Gabbard came into the league,

the knock on him was, boy, he gets happy feet. He doesn't like guys getting around him. And, you know, is that a fixable thing? Some scouts, some guys would say, like, you can kind of fix that to a degree. In fact, though, the reality is that gets worse as your career goes on because you understand. your own mortality better. I think we all can relate to that if you think about it. You

thought you could get away with a lot more when you were 21 versus when you were 36. You understood it a little bit more. Aaron Rogers doesn't want to be taking smacks from 300-pound guys running faster than he is. 42-year-old Rogers understands that way better than 24-year-old Rogers did primarily because he wasn't getting it. He could run away from them. He can't anymore. Tom Brady never had the gear to evade pressure with athleticism. It was always with his brain. So when he got old, he didn't lose anything. He was only smarter than he, than he was at 25. Aaron Rogers is a diminished physical specimen. So he, because he's a narcissist, doesn't fully accept that he's not what he used to be. So that's why he is trying to make throws. He's no longer

capable of making and those passes are getting intercepted in a way that they weren't a half a decade ago. Yeah, and even Brady, I mean, and this happened to Manning, too. It got next level of just like how quickly, like if he didn't like it, you would just get rid of the ball. He refused to take a hit, which that did change, but you make the right point, which is overall mentally he won it so quickly that he could make that work. Even the last year in Tampa where it was a little exaggerated, like he still made it work. Whereas Rogers, when you watch that tape and he's on the edge, it bummed. you out a little bit because he really does have a great arm. And when he does hit his throws, it looks sweet. He still looks like Aaron Rogers. So I can see why you could

kind of convince yourself that it could be. But when he is running away from pressure, he just looks old. And if you were trying to make the optimistic case, you would say, well, he's another year removed from the Achilles tear, which is such a massive injury. And I think if you're making a case for Kirk Cousins this year, that's one you could make. Kirk Cousins is four or five years older was never that fast to begin with. But when Rogers is out there and look, he's such a supreme athlete, even at this stage, obviously compared to regular humans, but he's being surrounded by these NFL players. He's just, it's like these these twinkle toes and he just looks so old that it kind of bums you out because this was a guy who you said it. You thought he'd

be the greatest of all time. And I do think if I'm just grading what's the highest level of quarterback play I've ever seen. I think there's still a pretty strong argument that Aaron Rogers at his absolute zenith when it was just cooking in those stretches. Sometimes it'd only be for like eight weeks at a time. He might be my pick of guys I've seen. And so it's a little bit of a bummer that it's just,

it's not happening. Right. I mean, because I like to make lists, as you know, I'd go home and then Rogers would be the top two. Window of greatness, like an extended window. Rogers, like, I don't know, like 2010 to 2014, like Peyton. The funny thing is, though, I'm going to stop you there. Within that, he would have very disappointing for him seasons.

I remember it very well where it would kind of come and go. Sometimes he even have hot like eight weeks at a time, but those MVP seasons that he had were just crazy. He was a really interesting guy because I was doing the QB rankings every week, a really interesting guy to follow where I really felt like there was something he had inside like a feel, a vibe he could get like on a role that was just absolutely next level. But he didn't always have it in the same way that Manning and and Brady did. He was like channeling something from above that like he could only channel some of the times.

I thought he was the coolest his comportment compared to the type A personality's finger wagon and, you know, Peyton like, you know, shouting down receivers on the field in front of millions of people watching on TV and otherwise, and Brady to a lesser degree, and Dan Marino and all of those guys coming off of that. And even Brett Farr, the big personality, Aaron Rogers was more, I don't know, introverted, but introspective at least. And I agree with you completely. He had this sort of quiet, cool, this swagger about him that differentiated him from the group. So it's funny then to consider him in that way because I think he has yielded yet another iteration of sort of like the way the starting quarterback presents, which is now the Jordan Love, maybe because of Aaron

Rogers and watching that up close and C.J. Stroud and everybody else have this sort of like just one of the guys kind of vibe about them. They don't feel like I'm the field general and you do as I say, which is what Aaron Rogers is sort of transformed into in a way a little bit. Like I blame everybody else. If this doesn't have you don't know what you got, New York Jetson, let me go kind of attitude, which goes back to the narcissism of his exceptional talent that I think maybe he doesn't fully recognize ain't there the way it was. I don't think he's full.

Like all great athletes, Ali, every boxer is that guy. Like, oh, he is the one who doesn't realize it's evaporating. Well, maybe he'll listen to this. And, yeah, his style, just that supreme athleticism. When you hear Patrick Mahomes talk about, like, who he kind of looked up to. And I've heard Drake May, like, they didn't want to be Tom Brady. They want to be Aaron Rogers. Like, Mahomes is the next evolution of where Rogers was.

But he's not that guy. So, yeah, maybe he'll listen to this. And he'll listen. My reasons again, yeah, just number one was not. that good anymore. Weird fit with Arthur Smith. Make you miserable. Get in the way of a rookie. You've always kind of wanted to try Rudolph. The best case is not that great. You could end Tomlin's whole streak. And then number seven, the most important one, Sheck doesn't want it. And if Sheck doesn't want it, the city of Pittsburgh doesn't want it. And it doesn't make

sense. Thank you, Sheck. We don't want this rental. We don't need this. Carpet bagger. That's not who we are. Go to Minnesota. They'll trade their dignity for for a Lombardi. Who took the vote in Pittsburgh that we're willing to do that? I am here to say that we are not. Stay away, Yins. We don't want Yins.

I love it. This episode is very close cousin to the one that I did with Ollie Connolly before last season where it was, again, a single issue show. And the single issue was, what if Kirk Cousins is just the bad Kirk Cousins this year?

and it's a total mess. And look how well that one age. So I hope that Rogers and Steelers fans aren't stuffing this one in our face all season with him doing well. I'm now put in a bad position. You are too, where you almost have to root against them. I don't want to be wrong.

I wouldn't root against them. It's as I have said about it and I think this is a good spot to bring it on home. Is I like James Bond as a character. I think James Bond is a fascinating character, if Aaron Rogers is the starting quarterback, it's like Timothy Dalton, James Bond movies. You understand?

I do. I'll still admire the character that is James Bond. I just won't be into... Yeah. You just hope it's not like Clooney, Clooney in Batman and Robin. Like there's a potential, there's a potential for it to be George Clooney, still an all-time great in Batman and Robin, almost sunk the entire franchise. That's it for our show.

Again, I say check out Sheck Show on YouTube. Check out his videos as part of the Levitard Metal Arc family. I love that marriage. That's a good combo. I'll be back with Daniel Jeremiah. I mentioned MJD is going to be our show, 40s and Free Agents. That'll be in the feed next. And then, yeah, NFL Daily, you'll hear me really start digging deep into the draft.

When we're telling Aaron Rodgers to stay away, you know football is back. See you next time. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday.

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