Aaron Rodgers has been the cause of a lot of talking points throughout the offseason and now is looking to have a bounce-back season as he is under center with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the team is getting ready for the season to start, the team has undergone some massive changes on the offensive side of the football.
The Steelers are looking to improve from their AFC Wild Card loss and have a new wide receiver in DK Metcalf after trading away George Pickens. It will be interesting to see how the moves work out on the field, but it appears that Rodgers may have had a hand in that decision.
Did Aaron Rodgers cause the George Pickens trade?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the most active during the offseason as they added a four-time NFL MVP winner in quarterback Aaron Rodgers. However, it appears that the future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback has had some sway in the front office.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers wanted to move on from wide receiver George Pickens before the signing of Aaron Rodgers due to the potential of their personalities clashing.
“Staying with Pittsburgh-related matters, the Steelers moved on from Pickens for a few reasons. His maturity issues were well-known within Pittsburgh’s locker room and front office. So, the Steelers made the evaluation that Pickens and Rodgers probably would not hit it off.”
As a result, the Steelers traded Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 third-round and 2027 fifth-round pick in early May. It is not said that Rodgers specifically asked for the deal to be made and it seems rather the Steelers getting ahead of a potential issue.
Aaron Rodgers played all 17 games for the New York Jets last season and completed 369 of 584 (63.0%) of his passes for 3,897 yards with 28 passing touchdowns to 11 interceptions. While the quarterback looks to improve, it will be interesting to see how he does with arguably the best coaching staff he has had at his disposal to draw up plays and help him shine at this stage of his career.
