ESPN Says Steelers Blew It by Sticking With Rodgers Over Willis

The Pittsburgh Steelers locked in Aaron Rodgers for another season, and not everybody is thrilled about it. ESPN’s Seth Walder came out swinging, arguing the team made a mistake by not pivoting to Malik Willis instead.

Walder laid it out bluntly. He said he gets the logic behind bringing Rodgers back, that idea of keeping a veteran floor. But he thinks Willis was a clearly better option at this point. Willis comes with real upside, he wrote. Walder also mentioned Kyler Murray would have been preferable, though he noted Murray probably wasn’t picking Pittsburgh over Minnesota anyway. The Steelers did draft Drew Allar in the third round, which Walder called a reasonable swing for the future.

So the criticism isn’t just about Rodgers being old. It’s about the Steelers passing on a younger, more dynamic option in a league that increasingly rewards those kinds of quarterbacks.

The Rodgers gamble

This is a one-year, $22.5 million deal for Rodgers. Walder isn’t pulling punches about what that means for the Steelers ceiling. He wrote that while this roster has strength, the reason they’re a long shot for the AFC title in 2026 is their quarterback. And that quarterback hasn’t been an above-average NFL starter in five years. The MVP season was the last time he truly looked elite, and expecting a return to that level is a hell of a reach.

Walder’s point is fair. The Steelers defense is still good. They have some pieces on offense. But the AFC is loaded with young quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud. Racing into that gauntlet with a 42-year-old Rodgers who struggled to finish plays last season is a choice.

Rodgers has said 2026 is his final season. He’s framed it as a last dance kind of thing. Maybe that motivation pushes him to play better than he has in recent years. It’s possible. Stranger things have happened. But counting on it is a bet, not a plan.

The Steelers also have a new head coach for 2026. Mike McCarthy replaced Mike Tomlin after Tomlin stepped down following the 2025 season. So there’s a new staff, a new system, and an aging quarterback who has to learn it all in what’s supposed to be one final run.

Last season, Rodgers and Tomlin got the Steelers into the playoffs. But that didn’t stop the organization from shaking things up. Now the real question is whether McCarthy and Rodgers can do more together than that first-round exit. And whether they can do it before the rest of the AFC leaves them behind.