What seemed inevitable for much of the NFL offseason became a reality Thursday afternoon with the report of Aaron Rodgers signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The move had been rumored since roughly the dawn of time, or so it felt. Thus, the impact on fantasy football rankings falls somewhere between minimal and non-existent.
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Specifically, Rodgers bounds up Jake Ciely’s pre-season rankings by one spot, moving from QB30 to QB29 and hurdling Russell Wilson in the process. The reason for that adjustment? It wasn’t any change in Ciely’s outlook for the Steelers offense, but rather that the risk of Wilson losing the Giants’ starting job at some point is now greater than that of Rodgers not signing this offseason. With the latter doubt removed, the runway is now clear for fantasy managers in single QB leagues to continue ignoring Wilson’s and Rodgers’ fantasy relevance for the remainder of this offseason.
Removing the chance that Rodgers wouldn’t land it in Pittsburgh is really the biggest takeaway from this news. Ciely had already baked in Rodgers-to-Pittsburgh in his projections for Steelers running backs Kaleb Johnson (RB27), Jaylen Warren (RB32), wide receivers DK Metcalf (WR20) and Roman Wilson (WR … scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, ah! WR62), as well as tight end Pat Freiermuth (TE15). With Rodgers signed, the floor is now established several stories above the one in the metaphorical rankings elevator labeled “Mason Rudolph.” So that’s something, even if the ceiling doesn’t vault skyward for any of those players in 2025.
With the ever-present caveat that anything is possible — even for a 41-year-old quarterback who hasn’t finished higher than QB18 since 2022 — for now, the fantasy impact is nil. Any invested managers can now return to a summer-long darkness retreat until the start of Steelers training camp.
(Photo of Aaron Rodgers: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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