Aaron Rodgers: Steelers one of '10 to 12' teams that can win Super Bowl

Forget the Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since January 2017. As for Aaron Rodgers, his playoff winless streak goes back to January 2021.

Now, the Steelers are banking on the 41-year-old quarterback having enough left in the tank to help them advance further into the postseason in 2025. How far can Pittsburgh go? On paper, Rodgers believes the Steelers are one of “10 to 12” teams that are capable of winning the Lombardi Trophy.

“I think most of the 32 teams would probably say something to that accord at this time of the year, but I think that there’s really only six to eight that really have a legitimate chance,” Rodgers said Thursday. “Sometimes it’s 10 to 12, and there’s teams that surprise you, but I would say on paper we’re probably one of those 10 to 12.”

On paper, the Steelers have a squad. Cam Heyward, TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith and Zach Frazier, among other standout,s were already there. This offseason, they signed Rodgers and Darius Slay, and acquired DK Metcalf, Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey.

Can Aaron Rodgers carry the Steelers to the postseason?

But in the AFC alone, the potential playoff group is deep. For starters, there is the big three of the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. The Cincinnati Bengals can’t be counted out with Joe Burrow under center, and teams such as the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans are right there as well.

Making the playoffs in a crowded AFC will be tough. Pittsburgh did it last year with Russell Wilson/Justin Fields at quarterback, and they’d like to do it again with Rodgers leading the way. The journey to get there begins with training camp, and the work has just begun.

“I think it’s coming together, you know, times like this with these 17 or so practices that we have here and finding the chemistry and hanging out with each other in the lunchroom and snack and the different times that we have and, you know, growing together through our practice,” Rodgers said. “Mike [Tomlin], you know, wants to practice at the hottest time of the day, which, you know, is interesting, but I love it just because it’s a stressor, you know, you see how guys respond to adversity.”