Long before the Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed on Thursday evening that they plan to sign free agent Aaron Rodgers to a one-year contract, analysts and reporters questioned if he would be the right kind of quarterback to play under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
According to ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano, Rodgers and Smith likely have already discussed how they will work together from the final days of spring through the upcoming season.
“He has been in touch with the Steelers throughout the process,” Graziano said about Rodgers during Friday’s edition of the ESPN “Get Up” program, as shared by Joe Clark of Steelers Depot. “They kind of knew where they stood. I know he’s been in touch with the offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, over the past few weeks. So they’ve exchanged ideas, what it would look like, all that kind of stuff.”
Per ESPN stats, Rodgers ended this past regular season with the second-most pass attempts (584) in all the NFL. It seems likely, if not certain, he’ll be asked to embrace a “less is more” approach in Smith’s run-happy offense that features ball-carriers Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Kaleb Johnson.
That said, Rodgers visited with the Steelers back in March and reportedly had a positive chat with Smith. It was said at that time that Smith was “excited to work with” the future Hall of Famer after the coach reportedly did not have the best working relationship with veteran signal-caller Russell Wilson as the 2024 Steelers ended the season with a five-game losing streak that lasted through a wild-card playoff defeat against the rival Baltimore Ravens.
“Rodgers’ best season in recent history was 2020 playing under (Green Bay Packers head coach) Matt LaFleur in a system that used play-action and motion at much higher relative rates than what the Jets ran last season,” ESPN’s Seth Walder mentioned in a piece published Thursday night. “Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith ran play-action 27% of the time last season (10th most) but was light on motion at the snap at just 16% (28th).”
Walder added that “the Steelers ranked 13th in pass block win rate last season.” For what it’s worth, Pittsburgh’s Broderick Jones is moving from right tackle to left tackle after Dan Moore Jr. signed with the Tennessee Titans this past March.
In the end, the Steelers are banking on Rodgers staying healthy and looking like the capable quarterback who featured for the Jets across his final four games with that organization. It remains to be seen if that version of Rodgers will prove to be an upgrade over what Wilson gave the Steelers last season.
