Aaron Rodgers’ decision to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers had been widely debated by many in NFL circles. The legendary QB is already 42, and in a team that has seen a lot of coaching changes this offseason, it seemed like the franchise was resetting, and that would lead to the four-time MVP announcing his retirement. However, he decided to resign for one last year.

While this may excite a section of Steelers fans, it is important to remember at 42, Rodgers is not the player that he once was. As of now, he is set to start for the Steelers, but a Pittsburgh-Post-Gazette reporter has made a point of Rodgers not having a long leash if his form dips this coming season.

“I would say he’d get like a month,” said Christopher Walter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But it would also need to be that he falls so far off a cliff that it would be disastrous for a month. Rodgers is one of the smarter QBs I’ve ever watched, and even if his arm falls off — I can tell you from what I saw over the past month it has not — I think he could work his way around physical issues and still make plays. If he bombs the first month, then they’d maybe look at changes.”

While Walter has been impressed with what he has seen from Rodgers in the offseason, he is acknowledging the dip in form the QB could have entering the 22nd year of his NFL career. Although Mike McCarthy and Rodgers have a relationship that dates back to their time together with the Green Bay Packers, for the former, it is going to be about making a statement in his first season.

He is taking over from Mike Tomlin, who, although led the Steelers to seven straight playoff losses, never had a losing record in the 19 years he coached the team. If Rodgers’ form is not at the level where it should be for a sustained period, McCarthy will have to start looking at his QB room for his next option to keep that stream of regular-season success alive.

Last season, in Weeks 10, 11, and 13, Rodgers lost his consistency. He had a pass completion of only 51.6% against the LA Chargers. Week 11, against the Bengals, he completed 60% of his passes. After sitting out in Week 12, he returned to action for Week 13, but only managed to complete 47.6% of the passes.

This season, again, Week 10 through Week 15 could prove to be a challenging time for Rodgers. Their opponents during this stretch include the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Baltimore Ravens. They do have a bye in Week 12, which could prove to be instrumental, but the defenses of all these teams are tough to break down, with the Broncos and Texans proving to be the most intense matchups during this stretch.

McCarthy has been very vocal about his feelings on the QB room. While he is confident in Rodgers, the veteran HC also knows that if there is a scenario in which Rodgers needs to be taken out, he needs to have a QB room to maintain the quality of the offense.

“We’ve definitely got four that we love, I can say that,” McCarthy told reporters earlier in the offseason during a press conference. “You always have to develop the room. That’s always been the approach. We’re hoping that [general manager] Omar [Khan] can get the roster expanded to 55 and we can keep four. It’s a really good room. This is a good place to be, having four guys that can play.”

It is just like Walter mentioned. Head coach McCarthy may look for options on the bench if Rodgers fails to perform for over a month. However, that is a very rare scenario, especially since his experience and skills make him a threat to the opponents despite his age.

Regardless, it is a short leash for the four-time NFL MVP. But if the worst-case scenario becomes a reality, who will replace Rodgers as QB1?

Mike McCarthy has a few options who could replace Aaron Rodgers

With Mike McCarthy replacing Tomlin, fans are expecting something different on the offensive end. Regardless of all the changes, McCarthy will be playing Rodgers as QB1. Not only is he the most experienced and reliable one, but McCarthy has coached Rodgers for 13 years at the Green Bay Packers. They even won Super Bowl XLV together.

However, lingering thoughts about 42-year-old Rodgers failing to perform in the upcoming season have certainly raised a lot of eyebrows. The Steelers have Will Howard, Mason Rudolph, and rookie Drew Allar, who are in the QB room fighting for the backup spot.

As the offseason has progressed, it seems increasingly clear that Howard will play second fiddle to Rodgers as the QB. When the four-time MVP was having his contract negotiations, the head coach made Howard take the first-team reps. He heaped praise on the 24-year-old quarterback for his work in the offseason.

“I think he’s definitely a real prospect as a starting quarterback,” McCarthy said on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “I think there’s a lot of growth.”

Moreover, it was Rodgers himself who mentored Howard last season. Despite being a rookie at that time, Rodgers spoke quite highly about him.

“From an intelligence standpoint and processing the presnap stuff, I think he’s gonna be great at that,” said Aaron Rodgers. “He was my right-hand man with all the signals this year and he was phenomenal at it. He sat next to me every meeting. He was sitting next to me in the quarterback room, he was sitting next to me in the big room when we went offense, and I loved it.”

It just shows that Howard has a lot of potential. He spent his rookie year learning more about the game, something that Rodgers did himself at Green Bay. So, even if the veteran suddenly has some issues with his performance, McCarthy probably would not hesitate to turn to Howard, who, although is new to the NFL, has shown glimpses of being a starting-level QB, at least to McCarthy.