Tom Brady's ex-teammate questions Aaron Rodgers being Russell Wilson's upgrade at Steelers

Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are two of the most accomplished quarterbacks in modern NFL history. Both are perennial Pro Bowlers and have won Super Bowl rings. However, the past few years haven't been as kind with each player enduring mostly forgettable stints around the league.

Rodgers missed out on the playoffs in his two-year spell with the New York Jets, while Wilson hardly set off the fireworks with the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers. Ahead of the 2025 season, Rodgers is replacing Wilson on the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he's aiming to help Mike Tomlin's side achieve a deep postseason run.

With training camp around the corner, Tom Brady's former teammate on the New England Patriots, Chris Long, has questions about whether Rodgers is an upgrade on Wilson.

"If you were to tell me, ‘Hey, I think this is an upgrade over Russell Wilson,’ I wouldn’t say I know that for sure," Long said on Tuesday's episode of The Rich Eisen Show (Timestamp: 01:00).

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"But if it is, how big of an upgrade? I worry that they’ll just end up in quarterback purgatory again. … If we end up in a situation where somebody’s not on the right side of the red line, famously, infamously, I could see some stuff like that happening and the growing pains being tough."

Long is skeptical about Rodgers' fit with the Steelers. He's joining a team that had two dual-threat shot callers in 2024 with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on the roster.

However, Rodgers has settled into the role of pocket passer in recent years. This seems the best way forward, considering his well-documented struggles with injuries since his later spell in Green Bay. With Wilson now on the New York Giants, Mike Tomlin has his work cut out to build a true contender around the four-time MVP.

What's next for Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson?

Aaron Rodgers is entering his 21st season in the NFL. The future Hall of Famer is set to suit up for his third team in the past four seasons, which is a rather interesting development considering that Rodgers was a one-team player for 18 years.

Rodgers is joining a Pittsburgh Steelers side that has failed to make it past the first hurdle in the playoffs since 2016. The franchise believes that Rodgers could be the last piece to the deep postseason run that they thought they had this time last year with the addition of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

Speaking of Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks legend is now on the books of the New York Giants. Wilson joined the Giants after a mixed one-year campaign with the Steelers that saw him help the team to the playoffs, only to get bounced by archrivals, the Baltimore Ravens.

Wilson is in a competition with fellow veteran Jameis Winston and high-potential rookie Jaxson Dart. Giants head coach Brian Daboll hopes that the ten-time Pro Bowler will be able to reinvent himself under the bright lights of New York and take the team to the postseason.

Edited by Ribin Peter