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Aaron Rodgers Joins 2025 Steelers: Is the NFL Turning into No League for Old Quarterbacks?

Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar11/06/2025 - 11:08 am
Aaron Rodgers #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action during Minicamp at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

After months of lingering as the NFL’s most tiring offseason storyline, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is officially a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2025 season. He signed a 1-year deal worth $13.65 million with a chance to earn up to just south of $20M with incentives.

It’s another veteran with a Hall of Fame ceremony in his future seeking his third team in his twilight years signing a relatively cheap contract to quarterback the Steelers. We know how well the Russell Wilson experiment went last year. That’s why Rodgers is in Pittsburgh now.

But can the oldest quarterback in the NFL still be a difference maker? We have all summer to do a season preview for the Steelers where I can detail why coach Mike Tomlin is the biggest offender of maintaining the status quo, doing the same things over and over, and expecting a different outcome – the definition of insanity.

The Steelers were 10-3 last year before collapsing and losing their final five games. The competition was tough, but the Steelers never scored more than 17 points in any of those games. Meanwhile, Rodgers is a 4-time MVP who had some of his better games late last season for the Jets, and maybe that’s to be expected of a player who was more than a year removed from his Achilles injury from September 2023. You usually need over a year to fully recover from that injury.

Old quarterbacks usually don’t heat up as the season wears on. Not with the temperatures dropping, the hits adding up, and the recovery time not being what it used to be. Adding a 41-year-old Rodgers (who turns 42 in early December) does not sound like the recipe to ending Pittsburgh’s longest drought without a playoff win (eight seasons) since the 1970 merger.

There’s a reason the Steelers’ Super Bowl 60 odds did not improve after the news became official that Rodgers is joining the team. In fact, the Steelers’ odds were +4300 after April’s draft and have only gotten worse (+4600 at FanDuel) today.

Pittsburgh is trying to set an all-time NFL record with a 22nd-straight non-losing season, but the Steelers are currently favored to finish under 8.5 wins (-135 at FanDuel), which would be a losing season. You can bet the sportsbooks were cooking the addition of Rodgers into all the odds this offseason too. The story’s been there for months.

Now, Rodgers is potentially playing his final season with the franchise and for the coach that’s responsible for his only Super Bowl victory back in Super Bowl 45 in February 2011. That’s so long ago that Twitch and TikTok didn’t exist yet, there was no such thing as a streaming service original series, Timothée Chalamet had yet to make his film debut, and Donald Trump was merely getting ready to host Season 11 of The Apprentice.

It was a different world. This is a different Rodgers, and not a better one as his 2022 and 2024 seasons are his worst statistical seasons and he missed the playoffs in both years.

But as Jimmy Eat World once wrote: Don’t give away the end – the one thing that stays mine. No one knows for sure how this Rodgers-Steelers union will go even if we have a good inkling the best-case scenario is another wild-card loss. But Rodgers will dictate the terms of how his career finally ends.

Given the changing nature of the position and the salary inflation in the league, Rodgers could even be the last of his kind as a pocket passer playing into his 40s.

NFL: No League for Old Quarterbacks?

Tom Brady aside, NFL careers are trending shorter as players make enough money now that they don’t need to keep playing this long, nor would most of them want to outside of highly-paid quarterbacks and special teams players.

But Rodgers also clearly isn’t doing this for the money as the new salary is well below market rate for a starter in 2025.

It’s also possible that Rodgers is the last 42-year-old quarterback we see for a long time, if not the rest of our lives:

  • Matt Ryan was a top pocket passer in his era and became a starter the same year Rodgers took over in Green Bay (2008), but he tapped out after his age-37 season in 2022, his final game a blown 33-0 lead against the Vikings.
  • Matthew Stafford (Rams) just turned 37 and has already been discussing retirement plans with his wife.
  • Kirk Cousins (Falcons) turns 37 in August and is struggling with getting benched in Atlanta for Michael Penix Jr., so retirement and a media job may be here sooner than later.
  • The aforementioned Russell Wilson (Giants) turns 37 in November and is already on his fourth team, so he may not see 40 on an NFL roster either.
  • We’ll see if it sticks, but Derek Carr (Saints) just retired at 34 years old after citing a shoulder injury.
  • We’ll see how much longer Joe Flacco (40) and Andy Dalton (38 in October) want to keep making spot starts and ride the bench, but neither is an every week starter anymore, and Flacco hasn’t made 10 starts in a season since 2017.

Rodgers is practically the last man standing from his era of pocket passers. Quarterbacks are much more mobile now and run the ball themselves more than ever. It’ll be uncharted territory for the likes of Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Jayden Daniels to play with the style they do years after they turn 35. Someone like Randall Cunningham, an original dual-threat, had to change his style to a pocket passer with the Vikings in 1998 to stay upright.

Even the quarterback the Steelers are technically still trying to replace for the long term, Ben Roethlisberger, had to change his playing style in 2012 to someone who got rid of the ball faster to last as long as he did. We’ll see if Josh Allen (29) cuts down on his running in Buffalo once he gets into his 30s, and even Patrick Mahomes (30 in September) has had some close calls with leg injuries already in his career.

But Father Time, even if he faces some tough battles, he always wins in the end.

NFL Aaron Rodgers Mike Tomlin Steelers
“We’re too old for this…”

What Makes a Legendary NFL Quarterback Retire?

Rodgers has always been credited as one of the greatest athletes to ever play the position, and the arm still has enough juice on it. If you look at his injury history, it’s mostly just the two collarbone fractures in 2013 and 2017 that cost him half a season both times, though neither directly ended his season. Then he infamously tore his Achilles one drive into his career with the Jets in 2023.

The Achilles is a serious injury and not one many older players can return from adequately. NBA legend Kobe Bryant memorably tore his Achilles at age 34 in 2013, and he was never the same player afterwards. He played three more injury-ravaged seasons and never appeared in another playoff game.

But Rodgers made it through all 17 games with the Jets last year, which is a good sign for his recovery. Actually, Rodgers threw 584 passes last season, the most by any quarterback in his 40s not named Tom Brady. The fact that Rodgers is coming back to play in 2025 for his 21st season instead of just retiring tells us something about his readiness for this year.

Rodgers’ 2025 return will make him one of the oldest players and quarterbacks in NFL history as only three other players were able to throw at least 60 passes in their age-42 season or older:

  • Warren Moon (1998 Seahawks): Things started well before injury set in and Moon was benched for Jon Kitna.
  • Vinny Testaverde (2005 Jets and 2007 Panthers): Testaverde was just making spot-duty starts for injured starters and it didn’t go well either year.
  • Tom Brady (2019 Patriots and 2020-21 Buccaneers): The master of longevity, not only did Brady throw 2,675 passes in his age 42-45 seasons, but he led the NFL with 719 and 733 attempts in his last two years in Tampa. However, while 2020-21 went great with a Super Bowl win, 2019 and 2022 are among Brady’s worst seasons in his career.

Rodgers will try to join that list in September, but he may not want to follow that trio to an age-44 season as they all did too.

Moon was a great passer who had to earn his stripes in Canada first because of the NFL’s racial barrier at the position in the 1970s. Testaverde was a No. 1 overall pick and great athlete in his own right. Brady had a maniacal drive for the game, and even when he tried to retire after 44, that lasted 40 days before he returned for his ill-fated age-45 season, which quite arguably strained his family situation and led to his divorce from Gisele Bundchen in 2022.

Well, at least we know family won’t stop Rodgers from playing the game he apparently still loves. But why are these the only four players to keep going at this late stage at the game’s most important position? What stopped other legends from continuing?

Often, the answer is related to a significant injury suffered later in their career.

Brett Favre (2010, 41 Years Old) – Injuries and Decline

The legend Rodgers replaced in Green Bay, Brett Favre being the NFL’s ironman with 321 consecutive starts is a bit of a miracle when you consider all the hits he took and his addiction to pain killers and reportedly alcohol in the 1990s.

But returning for the 2010 season at age 41 for Minnesota proved to be a disaster for Favre, who led the team to the NFC Championship Game in a great season in 2009. First, Favre waited until August to make the decision to return for his final season, which was the first major red flag.

Then after struggling on the field, reports off the field came flying that he sent inappropriate text messages to Jets employee Jenn Sterger as a member of the Jets in 2008. Things only snowballed from there, and Favre’s ironman streak ended after an AC joint injury to his shoulder ended his streak.

There was no path back to the NFL after that disastrous 2010 for Favre, and he finally retired for good this time.

Drew Brees (2020, 41 Years Old) – Injuries

Like Rodgers, Brees could have returned for his age-42 season in 2021, but the injuries he largely avoided for two decades started popping up frequently in 2019-20 despite his play still being very good. The beginning of the end in 2020 was when he suffered 11 fractured ribs and a collapsed lung against the 49ers, landing him on short-term injured reserve.

Brees returned for the final three regular season games and the playoffs, but his passes looked weak and he played his worst playoff game ever against Brady’s Buccaneers in the NFC divisional round, which ended up being his final NFL game.

It’s a miracle Brees lasted as long as he did while throwing so many passes after that shoulder injury to end the 2005 season in San Diego.

Peyton Manning (2015, 39 Years Old) – Injuries and Decline

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) walks the field during pregame against the Cincinnati Bengals
(Photo By Eric Lutzens/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

In many ways, 2006 was the most important season in Peyton Manning’s career. Not only was it his first Super Bowl win, not only is it the best he’s ever played the position in my view, but it’s also the year he was pulled down around the neck in a game against Washington that many believe is the source of his neck problems that led to four surgeries in 2011 to end his time in Indianapolis.

In Denver, Manning’s passes didn’t look to have the same zip, but just like in Indy, they had a habit of finding themselves in the hands of his receivers anyway. But it always looked funny, and it showcased how great his anticipation got to deal with the diminished arm strength and still lead one of the greatest 3-year stretches of offense in NFL history in 2012-14.

Even in the 2013 opener when Manning threw seven touchdowns against Baltimore, read tweets from the first half of that game and people were wondering if he could make it through a season like this. The end result was a record 55 touchdowns and 5,477 passing yards.

But the lesser arm strength led to Manning putting more strain on his body with each throw, and 2014 ended badly with a quad strain, which may have been caused by a 3-game span where Manning threw 155 passes. That was the turning point as he went from having MVP-caliber numbers to a bad finish that season.

Then things only got worse in 2015, but thanks to the best defense in his career, Manning still shook off a plantar fasciitis injury that led to the worst performance of his career in a game against the Chiefs where he only played because he was always a starter and was trying to set the all-time record for passing yards in NFL history. He got to heal some and returned to the lineup in Week 17 and guided the Broncos to a No. 1 seed and eventual Super Bowl win, getting to retire with a second ring.

We probably see Manning playing into his early 40s if that 2006 hit against Washington didn’t happen, but we may never have seen him set records in Denver either.

Ben Roethlisberger (2021, 39 Years Old) – Injuries and Decline

Ben Roethlsiberger playing 18 years was probably a miracle if you saw the sacks and punishment he took in 2004-11 before he changed his style to get rid of the ball quicker. He still took 607 sacks when you include the playoffs, and he suffered many injuries throughout his career, including a motorcycle crash in 2006 followed by an emergency appendectomy.

But none of them ever kept him out for more than a month until his 2019 elbow surgery, the first of its kind for a quarterback, that cost him 14 games. When he returned in 2020, his arm strength was noticeably weaker, but like with Manning in Denver, it helped him throw with better anticipation.

Also like Manning, I’ll always believe the beginning of the end for Roethlisberger was when he threw 141 passes in a 3-games-in-11-days span in December 2020. COVID had the Steelers playing a twice-rescheduled game on a Wednesday afternoon before hosting a Monday afternoon game, which ended up being their first loss of the season after an improbable 11-0 start.

Roethlisberger was throwing short passes almost every play, and the offense completely tanked from there and the team finished 1-5. In 2021, things didn’t look much better offensively until Roethlisberger started getting things going in Weeks 5-14 when he threw 15 touchdowns to 3 picks with a 99.9 passer rating while completing 66.0% of his passes.

But come December, Roethlisberger’s body was running on fumes just to finish the season. He threw for a pathetic 123 yards on 46 passes in his last home win against the Browns but still had one more game-winning drive left in him in Baltimore to make the playoffs where the Steelers were crushed 42-21 in Kansas City.

Philip Rivers (2020, 39 Years Old) – Family Priority

Philip Rivers is such an interesting case as he was still playing well at 39 in his first and only season for the Colts. He challenged the Bills well in a wild card playoff game, but it was not meant to be for him to ever reach a Super Bowl.

But what makes Rivers so interesting is he started the last 252 games of his career without a single game missed to injury. Yet, in the biggest game of his career in the 2007 AFC Championship Game in New England, he played it on a torn ACL and obviously lost in a poor game.

Maybe Rivers could have returned in 2021, but he is well known for his prolific baby-making off the field, so it did get to a point where family became more important than chasing that elusive Super Bowl ring.

Eli Manning (2019, 38 Years Old) – Demotion and Contentment

Just like Rivers, the younger Manning was an ironman who never missed a start to injury. But he was falling out of favor in New York after that Super Bowl win in 2011. Eli never won another playoff game, he was benched for a week in 2017 to end his starts streak, then the team drafted Daniel Jones high in the 2019 draft, making the writing on the wall that Eli’s time was coming to an end.

He was benched for Jones in 2019, and finished his career as a backup before moving into media roles with his brother on ESPN and their production company. There may have been another team interested in Eli in 2020, but he was content with what he accomplished in the NFL under the weight of huge expectations because of his name and draft fiasco in 2004.

Joe Montana (1994, 38 Years Old) – Injuries and Physical Toll

Joe Montana only made it to his age-38 season, but he was still an effective quarterback with the Chiefs. But he took a beating in his career with 15 different injuries that led to 55 missed starts, and that doesn’t include games he was knocked out of like the 1990 NFC Championship Game.

An elbow injury cost Montana 31 games in 1991-92 and ultimately his job to Steve Young, who himself only made it to 38 because of too many concussions in San Francisco.

John Elway (1998, 38 Years Old) – Chronic Knee Injuries and Contentment

John Elway is a rare case of a player who got to retire on top with back-to-back Super Bowl wins in Denver, and the best statistical peak of his career was at the end in 1993-98 after the Broncos built a stacked team around him.

It’s possible Elway could have come back for a three-peat opportunity, but what more was there to accomplish after repeating at the end there? Also, he had chronic knee issues and was having surgery for that. Even in his 1998 season, Bubby Brister had to start some games for Elway because he hurt himself in pre-game warmups and pulled a rib muscle.

The body had enough and there was nothing left to prove.

Dan Marino (1999, 38 Years Old) – Injuries and Physical Decline

You don’t necessarily want to go down as the best quarterback to never win a Super Bowl, but that’s what Dan Marino’s legacy is. He was an ironman for Miami early in his career until his famous Achilles injury in 1993, but his return in 1994 was an incredible season. It was also his last good playoff run as the Dolphins only got worse from there, and injuries started piling up on his body as he got closer to 40.

A shoulder injury cost Marino five games in 1999, and he’s probably wishing it ended his season as his final game was a 62-7 playoff loss to the Jaguars in one of the worst endings ever for such a decorated player.

But even the quickest release only gets you so far against NFL pass rushers. There’s actually a longstanding rumor that the Steelers entertained bringing Marino back to hometown Pittsburgh for the 2000 season with Kordell Stewart struggling at quarterback, but it never happened obviously. Marino went into media with CBS instead, declining Pittsburgh’s offer as well as interest from the Vikings. He felt that he gave his heart and soul to the Dolphins for 17 seasons and it just didn’t end in Super Bowl success.

So, Rodgers almost wasn’t the only MVP and future Hall of Fame lock to join the Steelers so late in his career.

What to Expect from Rodgers in Pittsburgh?

Again, I think it’s a good thing that Rodgers did not let the Achilles injury effectively end his career. He came back, he put in a full season for the Jets, and while they finished 5-12, not many people are going to acknowledge that the Jets blew a league-high six leads in the fourth quarter and that the special teams were absolutely horrendous in crunch time. Rodgers played better than his 5-12 record.

But while Rodgers didn’t retire from the Achilles, it is making him slower as he’s not much of a threat to extend plays anymore. He averaged about one scramble per game (16 in 17 games) last season while Justin Fields and Russell Wilson had 38 scrambles in their shared duties as Pittsburgh’s starter in 2024. They also are more mobile to extend plays and throw the ball that way.

Rodgers is going to take his share of sacks, but he will avoid some of the bad ones that Wilson and Fields take where they hold it too long. He’ll get rid of the ball faster and is better at pre-snap reads than those players. You just can’t expect him to do much more than crumble in the pocket when the pass rusher has him dead to rights, though.

But that’s one of the issues with the older quarterbacks. No one likes getting hit, and that’s even more true when you get older.

We saw it with Roethlisberger protecting that elbow post-surgery as he was throwing the ball short and not challenging downfield as much. We saw it in 2022 with Brady almost playing “hot potato” with the ball in Tampa, refusing to hold it for more than 2.5 seconds. The result was an offense that was doing well in limiting sacks and turnovers, but the routes weren’t allowed to develop and the defenses can come up and sit on those short routes, limit YAC, and it just makes it hard to score points that way. It’s no surprise the 2021 Steelers and 2022 Bucs were embarrassed in the playoffs.

Rodgers is not going to a great offensive line in Pittsburgh. He’s also getting a downgrade at wide receiver as the Steelers traded George Pickens to Dallas and are basically rolling with D.K. Metcalf, the Ghost of Robert Woods, and Calvin Austin. That’s not great as it’s one of the worst receiving corps of Rodgers’ career, and he’s already a quarterback who has been under 7.0 yards per attempt in 2022 and 2024. Metcalf isn’t a high catch-rate receiver like Jordy Nelson or Davante Adams either.

The Jets actually felt like a better fit for Rodgers than the Steelers do, and we know how that turned out the last two years. It would be quite the story that the Steelers’ non-losing season streak started with the drafting of Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 and ended with the signing of Aaron Rodgers in 2025, but that’s very much on the table with a tough schedule in a division where the Ravens and Bengals are favored over the Steelers.

Tomlin lives for the close wins, which is why it’s surprising Wilson wasn’t a better fit for him in 2024. That has never been the case for Rodgers, who even in his best years, he was used to blowing teams out and not leaving things up to the fourth quarter, something the Steelers haven’t been in a very long time.

Expectations for Rodgers in Pittsburgh should be low, and it seems like most are playing it that way with the betting odds on this team and the way we were kind of bamboozled on Rodgers in New York the last two years.

It’d be quite the story if Rodgers did pull out one of the greatest final seasons in history, on par with Roger Staubach (Cowboys) in 1979, Kurt Warner for the 2009 Cardinals, or Elway’s 1998 Super Bowl ending in Denver.

But the end is rarely pretty. That’s true for all of us. No matter what you think of Rodgers personally as he’s become such a polarizing figure in recent years, maybe try to enjoy these last moments of this dinosaur’s career as we’re watching a pocket passer in his 40s, and the NFL is moving away from such players.

Also, he’s a newlywed after confirming a recent marriage after his first Pittsburgh practice, so maybe that will change his perspective on things a little. He should enjoy it while it lasts too.

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Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar11/06/2025 - 11:08 am