Steelers' Arthur Smith Is Likely To Be Forced Into A Reduced Role During 2025 Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had quarterback uncertainty for four offseasons now, and it doesn't seem like the organization is anywhere near a solution. Pittsburgh is in no place to plan on drafting a potential franchise quarterback during the 2025 NFL Draft, and the franchise is in hot pursuit of free agent veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Nothing is certain when it comes to who the starter will be for the 2025 season, but after Rodgers spent an extensive amount of time at the team's facility on Friday, all signs are pointing to him and the organization eventually coming to an agreement.

Rodgers has been a controversial figure in the NFL over the last several seasons, and he has been tabbed as someone who is difficult to form a working relationship with. This means the relationship between Rodgers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin, as well as Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith, is going to be extremely important if he ends up signing in Pittsburgh. 

Team insider Brooke Pryor went on 93.7 The Fan on Friday evening, and discussed why she is skeptical about the success of Rodgers with the Steelers.

"I think Arthur Smith is going to have his hands full with Aaron Rodgers," Pryor said. "Aaron Rodgers has been doing this for such a long time. Aaron Rodgers runs the offense the way that he wants to. To me, that's gonna reduce Arthur Smith's role. I can imagine that would be very frustrating because obviously we know that he was butting heads with Russell Wilson late in the season for similar reasons."

Smith will definitely have his hands full with Rodgers at quarterback if he comes to Pittsburgh, but it will be of the utmost importance that the two find a way to work well with one another. Rodgers doesn't have the best history of working with coaches, he was most recently accused of being part of the reason former New York Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh was fired in the middle of the 2024 season.

Rodgers has had issues with all of his head coaches at some while working with them. He has publicly criticized both Matt LaFleur and Mike McCarthy when he was with the Green Bay Packers. Smith also has had a rough go of it with his quarterbacks, as it was reported that he butted heads with Russell Wilson during the 2024 season. Pryor spoke more about how Smith must be feeling as the quarterback situation is still up in the air.

"This is probably not the situation that Arthur Smith wanted going into 2025. It seems like it could be another situation where he knows I can't teach an old dog new tricks, so we're just gonna have to take our cues from Aaron Rodgers."

Smith probably wants an opportunity to develop a young quarterback, but he isn't going to get that in Pittsburgh. He was a big proponent of starting Justin Fields in 2024, and he probably isn't very happy the organization allowed him to leave.

Steelers' Arthur Smith Will Likely See A Semi-Reduced Role

Smith already has to listen to input from Tomlin on the offense, and he has to call plays that fit the head coach's agenda and philosophy. This could seriously hamper his abilities to run the offense how he wants, and that will get even worse with Rodgers at the helm. The veteran quarterback has always been known to want a say in the offense, and it will be interesting to see how Tomlin and Smith handle that if he comes to Pittsburgh.

The play-caller didn't get along with Wilson because of what the veteran quarterback did pre-snap at the line of scrimmage. Smith wanted him to run plays the way they were intended, while Wilson was constantly trying to make changes. It is highly unlikely Rodgers decides to play in an offense where he doesn't have the freedom to change plays as he pleases, which means Smith might really just be a place holder as an offensive coordinator.

What do you think of the potential working relationships in Pittsburgh? Let us know in the comments below!

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