George Pickens Trade Signals Steelers Rebuild, Likely Closing Door On Aaron Rodgers

The Steelers' quarterback situation remains murky heading into 2025, with little improvement expected despite a shuffle at the position and an upgrade of George Pickens to DK Metcalf at WR1. With uncertainty under center and a declining passing attack, Pittsburgh’s appeal to a veteran like Aaron Rodgers continues to fade.

The combination of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson as quarterbacks for the Steelers in 2024 led to 3,607 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. Their wideouts caught 139 passes (31st) for 2,003 yards (29th) and 10 touchdowns (30th) on 229 targets (32nd), painting a dull picture for their passing game again this year. It also raises the question whether or not the trade of George Pickens takes away any motivation for Aaron Rodgers to sign with Pittsburgh.

In essence, the Steelers have landed on almost the same passing opportunity just by flipping in DK Metcalf (66/992/5) for Pickens (59/900/3), where the initial goal was to be more competitive passing the ball.

Mason Rudolph has a 9-8-1 record over five seasons. He’s completed 63.7% of his 686 passes for 4,615 yards with 28 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

Incoming rookie Will Howard comes off a National Championship in college. His game reached new heights in his first year at Ohio State, leading to an elite completion rate (73.0) with 4,236 combined yards, 42 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Against the backdrop of his resume, he had a much weaker opportunity (23.6 passes per game) and completion rate (58.8) over four seasons at Kansas State. Howard has a chance to be the Steelers’ future starting quarterback, but he must prove himself on the field.

The Steelers offseason so far:

- Let Justin Fields & Russell Wilson walk
- Wait for Aaron Rodgers
- Trade for DK Metcalf
- Sign DK Metcalf to $132 million deal
- Sign Mason Rudolph
- Draft Will Howard
- Pass on Shedeur Sanders
- Trade away George Pickens

Are they cooking? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/XMSrxc4QAC
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) May 7, 2025

After the trade of Pickens, Pittsburgh may be conceding that they are in rebuild mode, and Aaron Rodgers isn’t signing, either by high contract demands or him frowning on the Steelers’ passing opportunity.

Pittsburgh hasn’t had a losing season since 2003 (6-10), but the basement of the AFC North is calling them based on their expected regression in quarterback play. The Steelers overachieved on both sides of the ball in 2024, suggesting a sharp decline in wins this year based on an increase in quarterback turnovers. Again, does Rodgers want to be a glorified game manager for a losing team?

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