When a legend fades, it rarely happens with a loud crash. More often, it’s a quiet dimming: a theatre light that flickers once, twice, and then gives way to darkness. That’s the image the Steelers wrestled with as ESPN released its top 100 players for 2025. Aaron Rodgers’ name, once a fixture near the top, was missing again. Not outside the top 20. Not outside the top 50. Completely omitted.

This isn’t a one-off oversight. Rodgers, who for years embodied QB mastery with an MVP season and a Super Bowl ring, has been quietly slipping through the ranks for three years now. Back in 2023, he was placed at No. 29. Last season, he dropped to 41. This year, nowhere to be seen among the league’s finest. For a player who built a career on rewriting expectations, being absent from the very conversation of greatness cuts deeper than any pick-6 ever could.

At first, it almost feels like a typo. How does Rodgers, the man with four league MVPs, not crack a list that includes rookies, role players, and young stars still testing their footing? But there’s a pattern. Recently, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky ranked the best QBs in the league. The criteria: arm strength, ball placement, mechanics, decision-making, pocket presence, rushing ability, and second reaction. Aaron Rodgers’ name was nowhere to be found… again. At a glance, A-Rod’s history tells the larger story.

Rodgers’ time with the Jets was supposed to be the grand finale. Broadway lights, a fierce defense, and a chance to prove he could do in New York what Brett Favre never could. Instead, injuries, inconsistency, and a fractured chemistry left Rodgers a shadow of himself. ESPN’s panel judged not on resume but on expected 2025 performance outlook, and the verdict was clear: youth and upside matter more than legacy.

Overall, only two players from Steel City have graced the Top 100 list this year (a repeat from last year as well): T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. Rodgers has been slower than ever in training camp, and his age has spurred the Steelers into hyperdrive to solidify the offensive line. Rodgers’ numbers, be it aerial or rushing attacks, have also been steadily dropping over the years. The message? Rodgers’ time as a player who defenses fear may not return, no matter how storied the past.

The Rodgers snub is about more than a name missing from a list. ESPN’s 2025 rankings are brimming with young quarterbacks. C.J. Stroud at No. 90, Jordan Love at 87, Jayden Daniels at 24. Players once listed as ‘next generation’ are now defining the present. Rodgers, at 41, is no longer a part of that winning formula. But while Rodgers fades from the spotlight, a surprising subplot has developed in Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ QB room, once clouded with uncertainty, has produced an unexpected revelation. One that has caught the eye of HC Mike Tomlin.

Mike Tomlin’s quiet, dependable star

Aaron Rodgers is the QB1 for the Steelers’ 2025 (and his last) campaign. Behind him, Will Howard is taking notes in the hopes of someday taking the reins of the franchise if his number is called. But the QB2 spot behind AR8 was up for grabs for Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph all through this preseason. If there has been a clear winner, it’s Thompson with his tried and tested starting experience.

Through three preseason games, Thompson amassed 498 yards for 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Rudolph, on the other hand, has only 166 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 picks to call his own. With the preseason behind them, Mike Tomlin seemed to have expected the results Thompson has put out. As the HC noted, “He’s got playing experience. This guy started games in Miami, and so I think that experience shows. And we’re talking regular-season games.” In 2022 and 2024, Thompson played 10 regular season games in total for the Dolphins. While he only had 1 touchdown and 3 picks to show for his passing game, that experience translated into a positive light for Pittsburgh.

Rudolph, as a stark contrast, has played a total of 21 regular season games for Pittsburgh in the past. He boasts 19 touchdowns and 11 picks for his passing game. But that experience seems to have been shadowed by his 2024 campaign for the Titans (9 TDs, but also 9 picks) and has failed to make a comeback this preseason in Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ identity has always rested on accountability as much as star power. Thompson’s preseason win over Rudolph might just become a springboard to bigger opportunities. As former Steelers QB Charlie Batch notes, “I do believe that Skylar Thompson is in that conversation for the backup quarterback job with his play in the preseason.”

Aaron Rodgers might still attempt to claw back to relevance in 2025. But as he quietly fades from conversation, somewhere on Pittsburgh’s practice fields, Thompson finds his voice. One man struggles against time. Another rises because he still has it. And that, more than any Top 100, might be the real ranking that matters.