The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally landed Aaron Rodgers after pursuing the star quarterback for months, and Ryan Clark believes his former team has made a massive mistake.
Rodgers agreed to a one-year deal with the Steelers on Thursday. Clark discussed the news during an appearance on “SportsCenter,” and he said fans in Pittsburgh should view it as a “worst-case scenario” for the franchise.
While Clark believes Rodgers will be an upgrade over Russell Wilson, he does not think the 41-year-old is capable of leading the Steelers on a deep postseason run.
“This is the worst-case scenario for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It continues to keep you mired in mediocrity,” Clark said. “Will this team be better? Have they gotten better in the quarterback room? Absolutely. Will they contend for that championship that Pittsburgh Steelers people and fans and organization think is the standard? No, they won’t. … They’ll be fighting for a wild card spot. They’ll probably be home week one of the playoffs and again be looking for a franchise quarterback.
“If you told me you were gonna pair one of this era’s greatest coaches with one of this era’s greatest quarterbacks, I’d expect greatness. That is not what we’ll get.”
Aaron Rodgers signing with the Steelers is the worse case scenario. I think he’ll play good enough, & the team will be just good enough to miss out on a franchise guy next year! One of the greatest players of the era, & one of its greatest head coaches… just years too late.… pic.twitter.com/Py46A0N0M2
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) June 5, 2025
Clark was extremely critical of Rodgers when the New York Jets struggled last season. Rodgers eventually responded by taking shots at Clark and claiming Clark has a personal vendetta against him. An old video that surfaced suggested Rodgers might be right about that.
The Jets went 5-12 last season with Rodgers as their starting quarterback, so Clark’s take is not all that unreasonable. The Steelers went 10-7 and reached the playoffs with Russell Wilson. Tomlin and the Steelers obviously feel that Rodgers can do better, but Clark disagrees.
