Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is not 'enjoyable to watch,' per an ESPN analyst
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Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is not 'enjoyable to watch,' per an ESPN analyst originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering the 2026 season with one more year of Aaron Rodgers' career left to go. He plans for 2026 to be his last year, and will be making the Hall of Fame five years after he officially retires.
But, for now, he's playing one more season. It's an interesting Steelers' offense, but for one ESPN analyst, this upcoming season from Rodgers is not one he's looking forward to watching.
ESPN's Ben Solak noted that Rodgers is "not particularly enjoyable to watch" thanks to his style of play that's changed from his gunslinger days to more of a checkdown artist in recent years.
ESPN analyst believes Aaron Rodgers is not 'enjoyable to watch' for play style reasons
"In a different time, an Aaron Rodgers swan song season would move the needle considerably," Solak writes. "Though we're a few years into Rodgers' 'last season' at this point, and my nostalgia for his prime has been well used. His checkdown-heavy style of play is not particularly enjoyable to watch…"
This is a brutal analysis from Solak, but considering how the Steelers quarterback isn't nearly as good as he once was, it's an unfortunate reality for Rodgers and the Steelers.
No quarterback running a heavy checkdown offense would be an enjoyable watch. It doesn't matter that it's Rodgers running said offense. It's still a bad viewing product, as the big downfield shots aren't nearly as common.
For most of his NFL career, Rodgers had an average yards per completion of over 7.0, with plenty of seasons well beyond 8.0, making for a 7.6 average for his career.
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But in the last two seasons, Rodgers has put up 6.7 yards per completion, well below his normal career marks and making for a lot less exciting offense.
Regardless of whether it works or not, last year it had its ups and downs; this style of quarterbacking is, simply put, not exciting.
Solak was grading every team's watchability, and thanks in large part to Rodgers' checkdown-heavy style of play at this stage of his career, Solak doesn't believe the Steelers or Rodgers are an exciting team to watch.
It's a little bit harsh from Solak, but considering how Rodgers hasn't really looked all that good the last couple of seasons, at least compared to his prime, it's no wonder that Rodgers isn't as exciting a QB to watch anymore.
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