Is the final season of Aaron Rodgers' legendary career just one gigantic pastiche of nostalgia bait? Sure is starting to feel that way for the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl champ, who's in for one last ride in 2026 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rodgers has shown a penchant for "buddy ball", aka dragging along former teammates with him to the Jets and Steelers. At least in New York, all those moves went up in flames (Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Davante Adams, et al.).
Funny that my implicit questioning of any personnel decisions about wide receivers comes on the heels of the Packers paying Monopoly money to Christian Watson of all people. But I digress.
Back to Rodgers: Wouldn't you know it? In the Steel City, Rodgers is at it again with his "let's get the band back together!" antics. Apparently, reuniting with his longtime Packers head coach Mike McCarthy wasn't enough.
Ex-Packers TE teams up with Steelers and Mike McCarthy for Aaron Rodgers' last dance
As reported by ESPN's Brooke Pryor, the Steelers have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with tight end Robert Tonyan. The 32-year-old vet played in Green Bay with Rodgers from 2017 through 2022.
While Tonyan did have a dynamic 2020 campaign in which he piled up 52 catches on 59 targets for 586 yards and 11 TDs, that was over a half-decade ago. He was mostly on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad two seasons ago, and this past year with the Chiefs, Tonyan recorded one catch for one yard.
Not really sure what the plan is here from Rodgers and/or McCarthy. Is it just a favor to Tonyan? His days of being a difference-maker as a pass-catcher appear to be long gone.
The good news for the Steelers is that Tonyan will be up to speed on the playbook in no time, and should have innate chemistry with Rodgers. What's unclear is how he'll see many snaps behind the likes of Pat Freiermuth, just-extended Darnell Washington, and even versatile rookie tight end/fullback/football Shakira (whenever, wherever) Riley Nowakowski.
At least Pittsburgh made some other real moves of consequence to try to make Rodgers' final season memorable. But it's kind of apropos that the go-to wide receiver the Steelers traded for, Michael Pittman Jr., has a father who was in the league for the start of Rodgers' career.
Steelers fans had better hope Rodgers and Pittman get on the same page. It's no secret Rodgers doesn't tend to trust young playmakers with the ball, which could make adjusting to the NFL difficult for rookie wideout Germie Bernard.
But anyway, the Robert Tonyan situation in Pittsburgh just speaks to how weird the Rodgers saga has gotten. He's sentimental and spiritual, yet he projects paranoia and conspiracy theories.
Whatever. Rodgers has been in the spotlight for quite some time. His legacy is secure despite the bizarre nature of the last few years. It's just kind of sad at this point. The Steelers signing Tonyan could be as simple as Rodgers wanting another one of his pals around at the end of his football playing days.
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