While Pittsburgh Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II seems confident his club will soon sign quarterback Aaron Rodgers, some previously wondered who between Rodgers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will truly be running the team’s offense by September.
During a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Steelers insider Mark Kaboly of “The Pat McAfee Show” touched upon the Rodgers-Smith marriage that could become official this spring.
“I think Arthur is a good enough coordinator to be able to create a plan around [Rodgers’] strengths,” Kaboly said, as Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot shared. “You don’t have (wide receivers) George Pickens and DK Metcalf and (tight end) Pat Freiermuth and think you’re gonna run the ball 35 times a game. That’s just absolutely ridiculous.”
Steelers general manager Omar Khan indicated during the NFL owners meetings this week that he won’t trade Pickens before September. The club then gave Metcalf a five-year, $150M contract extension as part of landing him from the Seattle Seahawks. The acquisition of Metcalf led some to believe Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin were ready to embrace changes regarding the offense. However, the club still hasn’t adequately addressed its quarterback situation after letting Russell Wilson and Justin Fields go elsewhere in free agency.
Wilson and Smith reportedly “did not have a very good working relationship but fought through their differences as best they could” during the second half of the 2024 season. Kaboly hinted that Smith and Rodgers will be on the same page this fall.
“I think [Smith’s] levelheaded enough to know that Aaron is a [four-time] MVP,” Kaboly continued during the segment. “He’s [41]. He’s a surefire Hall of Famer. It might be decent to listen to him. I’m not saying to give him carte blanche. Obviously, you have a structure around it, but you better listen to what the Hall of Fame quarterback has to say. And I think Arthur would do that.”
Smith is seemingly excited to work with Rodgers after the enigmatic quarterback spent more than six hours visiting the Steelers in March. Of course, that relationship can only begin once Rodgers stops waiting to hear from the Minnesota Vikings and signs with Pittsburgh.
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