Ryan Clark reveals expectations for Aaron Rodgers led Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025

The Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs last season with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields handling the quarterbacking duties. Both Wilson and Fields are out, and Aaron Rodgers is in as Pittsburgh prepares for the 2025 NFL season.

Former Steeler and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark is bullish on Rodgers and the Steelers. He sees the 41-year-old signal caller leading Pittsburgh back to the postseason.

“I think that Aaron Rodgers is going to play well in Pittsburgh, and I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be a playoff team,” Clark said on Tuesday’s Get Up. “They built this team around the quarterback that doesn’t have to be Superman. You look at Mike Tomlin and he has won with quarterbacks with all sorts of statures, and he’s taken those quarterbacks to the playoffs, but they’ve been blown out in the playoffs. He’s not going to ask Aaron Rodgers to be all he was because he no longer is that.”

Can Aaron Rodgers lift Steelers to postseason success?

Entering his 21st season, it should be interesting to see which Rodgers the Steelers get. Rodgers spent the last two years with the New York Jets after coming over from the Green Bay Packers, though his first season in New York ended on his first drive due to an Achilles injury. He threw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2024, marking two straight full seasons with at least 10 picks.

But as Rodgers got healthier, his play picked up. In the final seven games of the 2024 campaign, the four-time MVP threw for 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions. His passer rating over that timeframe was 96.1.

Rodgers has the opportunity to prove he can still perform while quarterbacking one of the league’s most historic franchises. Pittsburgh hopes he’s the missing piece to winning its first playoff game since 2016.

“I just want to be a servant leader here and just pass on the knowledge that I’ve had for 20 years, the experience and just try and fit in with the guys, get to know ’em, let them get to know me and just enjoy the process,” Rodgers said last week, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “This is — everything’s new. It’s like the first day of school.

“I don’t know a lot of guys’ names. They don’t have names on the back of the jerseys here. They don’t have names on the doors in the meeting rooms. I literally walk out of the locker room, lost, try and grab somebody, ‘Hey, where am I going?’ But I’ll get the feel of it, and I’m excited about making this home.”