There’s a guy in Steel City who analysts believe will “be irrelevant by Thanksgiving.” For Steelers’ QB Aaron Rodgers, this bold claim by Mike Tannenbaum seems like the perfect fuel to ball out this season. Is he listening, though? Insiders believe he’s not worried about the negativity, but gearing up to leave his mark on the Steelers, nonetheless.

After two seasons marred by injuries and declining performance, A-Rod was in the thick of retirement talks. Turning 42 this December wasn’t helping the narrative either. But he met with the Jets to see if he could keep balling for them. We know how that went and had nothing to show for it except disappointment. So when AR8 rose in black and gold, the league knew he was coming back strong for revenge. But the Steelers insiders don’t think it will be as simple as showing up to defeat his old teams.

On the latest Locked on Steelers podcast, Alan Saunders joined Chris Carter to talk about A-Rod. As Saunders put it, there’s no plot afoot against Green Bay. As for the Jets, though, “I think Aaron Rodgers will feel pretty good. Like if he goes out there, beats the doors off the Jets and then like tears his Achilles again in week two, he’ll be like, ‘All right, but I got him.’” But there’s a lot more to it than Rodgers going up against his last team. There is a chip on his shoulder. But as Carter believes, the main thing to do for A-Rod will be to change the narrative around him.

“He talked about being a servant leader and he basically was like ‘I’m not here to steal spotlight. I’m here to fit what they’re asking me to do.’” Rodgers is no stranger to making headlines. But as Carter saw it, he didn’t have to make headlines this year. He just has to sync with the team and prove that he’s a team player. And that’s exactly what A-Rod is trying to do. He’s going all-in to mentor rookie QB Will Howard. He even showed up to throw passes to DK Metcalf before the minicamps started. As Carter further added, “I think that might be the chip on his shoulder that he wants to fit into this culture so much and to show that, ‘hey, I’m not a me guy. I’m a good teammate. I’ve been a good teammate.’”

Even if A-Rod isn’t in it for revenge in the traditional way, the Jets vs. the Steelers matchup has already gotten pretty exciting. Rodgers has the chance to prove Aaron Glenn made a mistake in passing on him. As for Justin Fields, he’s also going up against his old team. But while this season is looking like the return of the Rambo franchise, Mike Tomlin, for one, is already gearing up for the future. His chess moves have already been set in motion for the next season.

Mike Tomlin is betting strong on ’26

There’s a big reason the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal this year. Insiders believe he will have to prove that he can still ball out like his Packers glory days. After that, if he wants to stick around and the Steelers still believe in him, he might get another year under center. But apart from those ‘ifs’, the next year’s QB class is already generating major hype. Names like LaNorris Sellers, Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, Carson Beck, and Cade Kulbnik are some that insiders believe could be prime fits for a franchise QB in Steel City. And Tomlin is passing up on bolstering the roster this year to save some dough for that QB class.

With trade talks floating around the Dolphins’ CB Jalen Ramsey, the Steelers seemed like the perfect place to be. But Ramsey has a $16.6 million cap hit this year, and it will keep going up for the next few years. As Chris Carter put it, a Ramsey trade for Steel City might not be in the works after all. The Steelers already have Darius Slay, after offering him a $10 million deal back in March. As far as the CB position goes, the Steelers seem all set with the former Eagles vet. As Carter put it, “The Steelers probably don’t want to come off of any serious draft capital because they want to keep that draft – most of the bigger draft capital – so they can trade up and get a quarterback next year.”

With Mike Tomlin preparing to bring in a new face next year, the QB conundrum might finally be put to rest. For now, there’s a whole season to go through before that. And all eyes will be on Aaron Rodgers to see if that old Packers legend is still in there somewhere. Will AR8 prove all the haters wrong, or will it be the final chapter in his NFL career? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.