Aaron Rodgers and Arthur Smith could butt heads in Pittsburgh, Steelers insider says

When it comes to future Hall of Famer and possible Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, he marches to the beat of his own drum.

You need not look further for evidence of that than what is currently going on with the waiting game we're all playing. While everyone on the planet just wants him to make a decision already, Rodgers is moving at his own pace.

One of the concerns about Rodgers signing late is his ability to get acclimated in time for the season, both with his teammates and the playbook. And, that's on top of some wondering if Rodgers is even a good fit for Pittsburgh's offense to begin with.

But, as Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly pointed out, Rodgers is likely going to take matters into his own hands when it comes to the playbook and calling plays, anyway, which could lead to an issue.

“Do you think the playbook matters to Aaron Rodgers? Because I really do believe that it’s gonna be Aaron Rodgers’ playbook," Kaboly said (H/T Steelers Depot).

"He’s gonna call what he wants to call and that might be a little bit of a battle. I wanna believe that Aaron Rodgers is gonna get a lot of carte blanche when it comes to this offense. What he wants to do and what he wants to call.”

Of course, the concern with that scenario is that this could create a rift between Rodgers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

After all, Smith and former Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson "butted heads" over offensive philosophy last season when Smith did not allow Wilson to change plays at the line of scrimmage, Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in February.

Rest assured, Rodgers is not going to go with the flow as much as Wilson did, and you can bet your bank account he's is going to do his own thing when he sees fit, Smith's desires be damned.

Making this dynamic more interesting is the fact that Smith is a run-first play-caller who is going to try and instill that philosophy on an all-time great quarterback who is going to want to throw the rock more often than not.

Now, it's very possible that Smith is expecting this and has signed up for it. However, if that's not the case, there could be big problems between the quarterback and play-caller in 2025.