Poll: How Many Games Will Steelers Win In Aaron Rodgers’ Last Year?

Four-plus months after their season ended, the Steelers finally got an answer on quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ future last weekend. Rodgers agreed to return on a second straight one-year deal, which came as a relief to a Pittsburgh team that saw free agent and trade options erode over the past couple of months. The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer announced on Wednesday that this will be his last season.

Rodgers won four MVPs during heyday in Green Bay, where he played for head coach Mike McCarthy from 2006-18. He took home two of his MVPs and won his lone Super Bowl under McCarthy, who is now entering his first year as the Steelers’ head coach. Reluctant to rebuild in the wake of Mike Tomlin‘s January resignation, the Steelers turned to McCarthy in a win-now move. They famously never finished below .500 in any of Tomlin’s 19 seasons at the helm. They don’t expect that to change with Rodgers and McCarthy reuniting in 2026.

Tomlin stepped away from a team that went 10-7 and won the AFC North last season, but his decorated Pittsburgh tenure ended in unceremonious fashion. The Texans walked into the Steel City and bullied the Steelers in a 30-6 rout in the wild-card round. Rodgers, whom the Texans sacked four times, completed just 17 of 33 passes for 146 yards and an interception. He was far more effective than that during the regular season, which helps explain why the Steelers won their division. However, as he prepares for his 22nd season, Rodgers is much closer to an average starter than the QB demigod he was in Green Bay.

Although Father Time continues to gain on Rodgers, the Steelers saw him as their best choice throughout the offseason. With the expectation that Rodgers would eventually re-sign, they spent the past few months attempting to upgrade the roster around him. Adding capable receiving complements to DK Metcalf was a point of emphasis for general manager Omar Khan, who landed Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade with the Colts and selected Germie Bernard in the second round of the draft.

Twenty-six picks before he pulled in Bernard at No. 47, Khan tried to take former USC star wideout Makai Lemon 21st overall. However, while Khan was on the phone with Lemon, his plan fell through. The Eagles traded up to No. 20 to snag Lemon, leaving the Steelers to pivot to offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with their top choice. Iheanachor is beginning his career on the right side, while 2024 first-rounder Troy Fautanu could shift left as Broderick Jones recovers from neck surgery.

Elsewhere on offense, McCarthy reunited with another of his former players, running back Rico Dowdle, on a two-year, $12.25MM agreement in free agency. Dowdle was a Cowboy from 2020-24, McCarthy’s full five-year run as their head coach.

After rushing for his first 1,000-yard season in his last year in Dallas, Dowdle accomplished the feat again in 2025 with Carolina. He will give the Steelers a veteran replacement for Kenneth Gainwell, who signed a similar contract with the Buccaneers (two years, $14MM). Dowdle should feature prominently in a backfield that also includes Jaylen Warren, who just missed the 1,000-yard mark last season, as well as 2025 third-rounder Kaleb Johnson and rookie seventh-rounder Eli Heidenreich.

McCarthy, whose expertise is on the offensive side of the ball, brought in the experienced Patrick Graham as his defensive coordinator. The Steelers’ defense continues to boast plenty of household names as it begins life after Tomlin. T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Alex Highsmith, Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Patrick Queen and Nick Herbig are among the holdovers from last year. The Steelers have since picked up a pair of new starters for their secondary in cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Jaquan Brisker.

Dean, a former Buccaneer who moved to Pittsburgh on a three-year, $36.75MM pact, will join Porter to comprise the Steelers’ top two outside corners. Although Dean missed three games in his seventh and final season in Tampa Bay, Pro Football Focus ranked his play a stellar fifth among 112 qualified corners.

Meanwhile, PFF rated Brisker a middling 45th among 91 safeties. The former Bear settled for a modest deal (one year, $5.5MM) to return to his native Pittsburgh in free agency. While Brisker has a troubling history of concussions, the four-year veteran logged his first 17-game/start season in 2025. If Brisker stays healthy again, the Steelers will expect him to provide an upgrade over departed safeties Kyle Dugger, Chuck Clark and Jabrill Peppers. They let all three of those defenders walk in free agency.

When PFR’s Sam Robinson previewed Pittsburgh’s offseason in March, he wrote: “There are worse places to be than the middle, but the Steelers have resided here for a long time. Will this offseason reveal a path toward a way out or deliver more of the same?”

As highlighted above, the Steelers have made some notable changes to their roster since the offseason commenced. Nevertheless, Vegas has set the Steelers’ over/under for wins at a middling 8.5. Falling short of that total would mark the Steelers’ first sub-.500 season since 2003. How do you expect them to fare in Rodgers’ last year? Have they done enough to stay ahead of division rivals Baltimore and Cincinnati? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.