Should Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers be benched? That question was raised on Sky Sports’ Inside the Huddle podcast this week as the four-time NFL MVP struggles for form and battles injuries.
Rodgers, who turned 42 on December 2, has at least three fractures in his left wrist but remains intent on playing. He missed a narrow 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears and then the Steelers fell 7-26 to the Buffalo Bills.
“It’s a very genuine question to be asking but you have to think about how you bench an absolute legend?” said Sky Sports’ Phoebe Schecter. “It’s just impossible, really, because I think there’s so much mutual respect, and Mike Tomlin is somebody who really respects history and hard work. How could he ever be the guy who benches Aaron Rodgers? You just can’t.”
After a 4-1 start that opened up a comfortable divisional lead, the Steelers have lost five of their last seven games. With this potentially being Rodgers’ final season, he will not want to depart quietly — but he may not have a choice.
“I don’t think it will ever happen, nor should it,” added Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds. “Rodgers gives you a bit more of the line of scrimmage, he can read the game, he’s like a coach on the field, but he is not playing well at the moment. I think he wanted to have like a victory lap or two. It didn’t work out with the Jets. It hasn’t worked out here. I think he’s going to have to bite the bullet and that’s that. I think it will be a one-day contract with the Packers. They’re going to want that. They recognise their history.”
Through 10 games in his first season in black and gold, Rodgers has thrown for 1,969 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with a 97.7 passer rating — his highest since 2021.
“His best football is behind him,” said Sky Sports’ Jeff Reinebold. “Then he took that nasty hit and broke his nose, and those kinds of hits take their toll. He’s got a broken wrist and can’t take snaps from centre, that limits him too. The Steelers, I’ll be honest, are in trouble. I truly believe, and as wacky as this may sound, with Joe Burrow getting healthy and the Bengals defence looking like it’s starting to figure out the game a little bit, who’s to say they won’t win the division with an 8-9 record.”
A season “more unknown than ever”
Schecter described the 2025 season so far as unusually competitive and unpredictable. “Some of these teams that are in the play-off race right now, we never would have anticipated, and some of the teams that should have been clearly already established in the playoff race are ones that are almost on the cusp. This is what the NFL does, we have no idea what’s gonna happen any given Sunday.”
Reynolds noted the shake-up in standings: the Detroit Lions sit outside the NFC playoff positions, the Chicago Bears hold the top seed in the NFC, and the AFC top three are the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars, with Buffalo occupying the final spot.
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