Pittsburgh

Steelers

Azzanni heaped praise on Austin, who he deemed “a legit NFL receiver” who has been “overlooked” by the league and members of the media. Austin, according to Azzanni, will “bite your face off” as a run blocker and has show great toughness as a pass catcher. “Everyone else is battling for a spot and it’s going to be by committee,” Azzanni added. While Steelers coaches have talked up second-year WR Roman Wilson as a potential No. 2 wideout behind DK Metcalf, Azzanni made it sound like Austin as the WR2 is a done deal. Austin in 2024 had 36 receptions for 548 yards and four touchdowns. He was targeted on around 15 percent of his pass routes, a low rate by any standard. Whoever takes over as the No. 2 receiver in Arthur Smith’s run-heavy offense will struggle to be fantasy relevant in a low-volume pass offense.

Rodgers, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers last week, said he joined the team for 2025 because it was “best for my soul.” He’ll take over under center for the run-centric Arthur Smith offense that last season ranked 20th in EPA per play. “Rodgers, who still has some juice left in his right arm and displayed a quick release at practice, also is in a more stable and supportive environment for a QB than in New York,” DeFabo said. “Theoretically, he won’t have as much pressure to win games only with his right arm on a team that employs the NFL’s highest-paid defense and features a run-heavy offense that will limit his exposure.” Look for Smith and the Steelers to use plenty of play action — which Rodgers does not prefer — and ask Rodgers to make easy throws while leaning hard on the run. He’ll have precious little fantasy upside in 2025.

Smith continues to lobby for a new deal after a breakout 2024 campaign that saw the veteran reel in 88 receptions for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. While both Smith and the Dolphins want to work out a long-term deal, the Steelers have expressed sustained interest in Smith. Steelers OC Arthur Smith has a long history with Smith that dates back to their days together in Tennessee. Smith, 30, is set to make $4.7 million in 2025. He’s a candidate to hold out during training camp if he doesn’t get a contract extension from Miami.

Watt is not budging from his demands for a new deal going into the 2025 season. The Steelers reportedly expect to have Watt for Week 1, though the contract issue could drag well into the summer. Steelers beat writer Brian Batko said Tuesday that Watt and the team “agreeing to an extension is still the most likely outcome to me, but what makes this different than his last contract year is that he did go to minicamp back in 2021.” Not reporting this week would be a new leverage move for Watt, entering his age-31 season. Watt has 30.5 sacks and 38 tackles for loss over his past two seasons, each of which saw him play 17 games.

Solak raised questions about whether Rodgers is a feasible fit in Arthur Smith’s offensive system, which includes lots of under-center play-action passing — a play Rodgers has traditionally rejected because he doesn’t like turning his back to the defense. Solak said Metcalf’s imprecise route running could be a major bugaboo for the perfection-demanding Rodgers in 2025. “The ex-Seahawk is one of the less precise route runners in the NFL, and Rodgers famously demands perfection from his receivers as they run his hand-selected variety of highly specific routes,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine a 17-game season in which there is no sideline or postgame blowup between Rodgers and his top pass catcher.”

The deal includes $10 million in guaranteed money and $5.85 million in playing time and team performance incentives, bringing the potential total value to $19.5 million. It was previously reported that Rodgers would play for around $10 million this season with his new deal in Pittsburgh bringing that much in guarantees. The veteran quarterback would have made $37.5 million playing with the Jets this season, but the team has since moved on in favor of a cheaper contract with Justin Fields. Rodgers should not be expected to throw more than 30-33 times per-game based on the strength of Pittsburgh’s outstanding defense, which limits his fantasy appeal to deeper leagues and two-quarterback formats.

Speaking on Good Morning Football, Rapoport noted that Rodgers once said he would play this season for $10 million. While the exact terms of Rodgers’ deal are not yet known, Rapoport believes his deal will closely resemble the $10 million figure, with Rodgers having the opportunity to earn more through incentives. Rodgers isn’t coming to the Steelers to cash in on one last payday, but rather compete for what he hopes is another championship. Whether or not that comes with the Steelers is to be determined, but the future Hall of Famer is clearly willing to take a pay cut to find out, and the Steelers are just as desperate to see what he can offer over the likes of Mason Rudolph and rookie Will Howard.

The team itself used the “agreed to terms” lingo, stressing the deal was contingent on a physical. Nevertheless, the Steelers know what they are getting into. The 41-year-old will pass his examination and get to work replacing last year’s Justin Fields/Russell Wilson combination. Rodgers appeared in physical free-fall last season, but he still remained more middle of the pack in most advanced metrics. Rodgers did struggle over the middle of the field, though that is not where the Steelers’ primary weapons roam. Rodgers will obviously struggle for top-20 fantasy value himself. The question is if he can keep DK Metcalf in the top 18 at receiver, or perhaps make Pat Freiermuth a more consistent option. We are not holding our breath.

The move ends Parham’s 2025 season. Parham’s last regular season snap occurred in 2023, when he caught 27-of-40 targets for 285 yards and four touchdowns. He turns 28 in August and is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of this year.

Per Pelissero, the “contract parameters have been in place for months.” Rodgers has publicly said that he would play for $20 million. The deal merely needs to be finalized at this point. The 41-year-old Rodgers is expected to be on the field when the Steelers’ minicamp begins on Tuesday. Although he is no longer an elite player, he should be able to manage games in OC Arthur Smith’s run-heavy, play-action-based scheme if his ego allows it.