ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers are making a massive mistake by running it back with 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers . The four-time NFL MVP agreed to terms with the Steelers on a one-year deal worth up to $25 million on Saturday.
It's roughly a $10 million pay increase for Rodgers. The Steelers are paying as much for Rodgers in 2026 as the Miami Dolphins ended up signing Malik Willis for.
In addition to Willis, Solak thinks Kyler Murray would've been a better option than Rodgers.
"While free agency is never rich with elite passers, there were better options for the Steelers than this. Kyler Murray would have been an outright better and far cheaper player — he signed with the Vikings for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million dollars. The likelihood Murray gets hot for a playoff run is quite small but not nonexistent. With Rodgers, it practically is," Solak wrote.
"It is surprising that Rodgers is making as much in "free agency" as Malik Willis is with the Dolphins, with whom he signed in March. Willis might not be a better quarterback than Rodgers in 2026, but he will certainly be in 2027 and 2028 — because he will still be playing. If the Steelers wanted to give a quarterback $23 million dollars, why not give it to the guy who could have been the future? Signing Willis or Murray would have likely ended up with the same conclusion that signing Rodgers will — the Steelers needing to draft a first-round quarterback in 2027 but being in a poor draft position to do so — but the hightail outcomes were far more appealing.
"So will the Steelers be any better this season? Never say never, of course. I watched them start 11-0 with the husk of Ben Roethlisberger in 2020. Rodgers can certainly do this season what Roethlisberger did then. But I'll be placing my eggs in other baskets for 2026."
Solak is anti-Rodgers at this stage of his career. He outlined in a video last month that Rodgers was "very, very bad last season."
Rodgers went 10-6 as the Steelers' starter last season, throwing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Rodgers will enter his 22nd NFL season and his second with the Steelers. Rodgers went 10-6 as the Steelers' starter last season, throwing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
In Rodgers' second campaign in the black and gold, he reunites with Mike McCarthy .
The Steelers have made it clear they welcomed Rodgers' return. Reports linked the two sides throughout the offseason, and McCarthy publicly expressed his eagerness to bring the veteran quarterback back to Pittsburgh.
"Definitely. I don't see why you wouldn't," McCarthy said at his introductory press conference when asked about wanting Rodgers on his team. "I have spoken to Aaron, so that's really where we are there."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : ESPN Analyst Rips Steelers for Bringing Aaron Rodgers Back: 'There Were Better Options'
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