The Pittsburgh Steelers made one of the boldest moves of the offseason by acquiring star wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks and immediately locking him in with a lucrative contract extension worth $30 million per year.
With rumors swirling around Aaron Rodgers potentially joining the team, NFL executives are watching closely – and they’re not holding back on their opinions.
“Rodgers with Pickens and DK, if it’s not ‘Hard Knocks,’ it had better be,” an NFL executive said, via The Athletic. “I can’t think of a worse combination for all this to play out.”
Personality won’t be in short supply if the Steelers head into 2025 with Rodgers under center, Metcalf on the outside, and George Pickens still on the roster.
That interesting mix is raising eyebrows around the league, not just for chemistry concerns but also for the price Pittsburgh paid.
“In what world do you look at DK and go, ‘Let’s give that guy ($30 million) a year and trade a 2 for him?’” the executive added. “That struck me as, you are in on Brandon Aiyuk, you’ve been in on all these guys, you have not gotten them, and you finally found one.
“Maybe Tomlin brings out the best in him. I could see elements of why they like it. Pairing him with Rodgers seems odd.”
While some executives are skeptical about the financial and locker room implications, others acknowledge that the Steelers’ history with wide receivers buys them a bit of credibility – at least for now.
“Any time Pittsburgh brings in a receiver, I’m tending to say, ‘OK, they have gotten it right more times than not, so they probably know something I do not know,’” another executive said. “But I question the mix. Are we seeing the first signs of Pittsburgh panic?”
The looming question remains whether the potential addition of Rodgers signals a shift – or perhaps a throwback – in Pittsburgh’s approach to the quarterback position.
“Before Ben Roethlisberger, they always kind of just found a quarterback,” another executive said. “They grouped together some talented guys, they had their own play style, their own culture and it just kind of worked most of the time. Are they back to that? Is that what we are seeing now?”
With plenty of offseason still to unfold, the Steelers are firmly in the league’s spotlight.
Whether this gamble propels them back into contention or sets the stage for dysfunction remains to be seen.
Of course, we’re still waiting for Rodgers to officially sign with the Steelers. Many people assume it’s a foregone conclusion, but hey, you never know.
But assuming Rodgers does sign with Pittsburgh, do you agree that the NFL should do everything in their power to put the Steelers on Hard Knocks???
