NFL

Five things to know about Aaron Rodgers signing with Steelers, plus under-the-radar players in AFC

by
SaC Bot
June 6, 2025

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It’s National Donut Day, which I’m only mentioning because it’s easily my favorite holiday. I’m also mentioning it because there’s a pretty good chance that every Steelers fan is going to celebrate by purchasing four dozen donuts today to honor the fact that their favorite team just landed a four-time MVP.

That’s right, the Aaron Rodgers drama is finally over. Rodgers has agreed to a contract with the Steelers and we’ll be covering that thoroughly in today’s newsletter. Plus, we’ll be taking a look at a few under-the-radar players in the AFC who could turn into stars this year.

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let’s get to the rundown.

1. Aaron Rodgers agrees to terms with Steelers: Five things to know

After more than two months of waiting, the Steelers finally have their quarterback after Aaron Rodgers agreed to terms on a contract with the team Thursday. Rodgers is getting a one-year deal with the Steelers and he’s expected to fly to Pittsburgh on Friday to sign the contract.

Here’s what you need to know:

Rodgers is expected to be at mandatory minicamp. Rodgers didn’t agree to this deal until the Steelers finished their final OTA of the offseason, which came on Thursday, so he won’t have to worry about attending any OTAs. The next time the Steelers will be on the field will come at mandatory minicamp on June 10 and Rodgers is expected to be there.
Rodgers will be going on a revenge tour in 2025. Thanks to the Steelers’ schedule, Rodgers will now get to go on his own personal revenge tour. The four-time MVP will get to face the both the Packers and the Jets this year. He’ll also get another chance to beat the Lions, Vikings and Bears with the Steelers set to play every team in the NFC North. The biggest game will almost certainly be the one against the Packers, which will come on a Sunday night in Week 8.
Rodgers will be trying to join this exclusive club. If the Steelers beat the Packers, Rodgers will become just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 teams. Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Tom Brady are the only quarterbacks who have beaten every team and Rodgers will now have a chance to join them in October.
Rodgers is set to be the oldest player in the NFL. At 41 years old, Rodgers will not only be the oldest player in the NFL this year, but he’ll also be the oldest player in Steelers history. Not only that, but when he takes the field in Week 1, he’ll become just the third QB in NFL history to start a game in his 21st season, joining Tom Brady and Vinny Testaverde.
Steelers will be starting their fifth different Week 1 QB over the past five seasons. if Rodgers starts in Week 1, he’ll become the fifth different starting QB that the Steelers have used in their opener since 2021. That’s tied with the Falcons for the most in the NFL over that span. The Steelers went from Ben Roethlisberger (2021) to Mitch Trubisky (2022) to Kenny Pickett (2023) to Justin Fields (2024) to Rodgers.

We have some winners and losers from the Rodgers signing, and you can check those out here. We also broke down the pros and cons of the Steelers’ decision to add Rodgers and if you want to see why it might be a mistake, we covered that here.

2. Under-the-radar AFC players who can be stars in 2025

Here at CBS Sports, there’s no one better than Tyler Sullivan at finding under-the-radar players, which is why we asked him today to come up with a list of one under-the-radar player from each AFC team who could turn into a star in 2025.

Tyler came up with a list of 16 players; here are four who made the cut:

Bills: WR Keon Coleman. “With Khalil Shakir inking a four-year extension this offseason and the Bills signing Josh Palmer in free agency, folks may be forgetting Coleman. The 2024 second-round pick had a solid rookie season but is primed to break out in 2025.”
Patriots: EDGE Harold Landry. “Landry comes to Foxborough with a prior history working under coach Mike Vrabel due to their shared time with the Titans. Vrabel was at the helm when Landry posted a 12-sack season in 2021, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him reach that Pro Bowl level this year with his new squad.”
Ravens: RB Keaton Mitchell. “Derrick Henry will carry the bulk of the work out of the Ravens backfield, but Mitchell could prove to be a change-of-pace option with home run ability for what is already one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL.”
Broncos: WR Marvin Mims Jr. “Midway through last season, it felt like the Broncos unlocked Mims. From Week 10 to Week 18, Mims caught 32 of his 37 targets for 447 yards and six touchdowns. If you were to project that out over a full season, Mims would be looking at a season where he finished with 68 catches, 950 yards and an eye-popping 13 touchdowns.”

If you want to see the full list of under-the-radar players in the AFC, then be sure to click here.

3. Seven players who could make some noise at minicamp

After several weeks of OTAs, NFL practices are going to get a little bit more serious next week with most teams getting ready to start mandatory minicamp. We just looked at some under-the-radar players who could have a big year and we’re going to continue that theme by looking at some under-the-radar players around the NFL who could make some noise at minicamp.

Cody Benjamin came up with this list and here are three players who he’ll be watching next week:

Raiders RB Raheem Mostert. “The Raiders are betting big on Ashton Jeanty at running back. … Still, Jeanty is a rookie, and Mostert has toted the rock at the NFL level for a decade. It’s not unreasonable to think his fundamentals could earn him more reps than expected under the sage that is Carroll.”
Chargers WR Mike Williams. “Familiarity is key here. Williams endured an ugly 2024 season away from Los Angeles, bouncing between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers after the Chargers said farewell in a cost-cutting move. Yet his return to the Bolts could do wonders for the rest of his career.”
Cowboys QB Joe Milton III. “Milton has been something of a quiet sensation ever since coming out of Tennessee as an ultra-gifted but unpolished passer. Now positioned to fight for the No. 2 job behind Dak Prescott in Dallas, the big man is practically built for the spring stage, possessing a freakish level of athleticism that already earned him some social-media buzz for an effortless backflip at OTAs.”

If you want to see Cody’s full list, we’ve got that here.

4. Six teams have never had an NFL MVP: Ranking their chances of ending the drought

The Associated Press has been voting on the NFL MVP award since 1957, and in the 68 years since then, a total of 26 teams have produced at least one MVP. That means there are six teams that have NEVER produced an MVP, and those teams are the Saints, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Texans, Cardinals and Jets.

Out of those six teams, could any of them end their MVP drought this year? Let’s rank their chances.

1. Buccaneers
Possible MVP candidate: Baker Mayfield (MVP odds: +2500)
Breech’s breakdown: Mayfield won’t have his offensive coordinator back in 2025 — the Bucs lost Liam Coen to Jacksonville — but he is going to have literally everyone else back. There were 14 players who finished with at least 1 yard receiving for Tampa Bay last season and ALL 14 will be back in 2025. That list includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Cade Otton along with running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving. Not only will the Bucs be getting back every key offensive skill player, but they also added one when they selected former Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. … Mayfield actually got an MVP vote last season during his career year and with the table now set for the QB to have another huge season, he certainly could be in the MVP conversation in 2025.

2. Texans
Possible MVP candidate: C.J. Stroud (MVP odds: +2500)
Breech’s breakdown: Yes, Stroud struggled last year, but for 2025, not only have the Texans totally overhauled the offensive line, but they’ve also brought several weapons in for Stroud. The Texans made a trade for Christian Kirk in March before adding two more receivers in the draft (Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel). Not to mention, Stroud’s favorite receiver, Nico Collins, should finally be fully healthy after missing five games in 2024.

3. Jaguars
Possible MVP candidate: Travis Hunter (MVP odds: +20000)
Breech’s breakdown: The fact that Hunter plays both offense and defense could help him here. The advantage he’ll have over everyone else is that he won’t have to be the top player at his position to possibly win MVP. If Hunter is a top-five receiver AND a top-five corner that would almost certainly put himself in the conversation for MVP at the end of the season.

Every player listed above is a long shot, so we might not see any MVP droughts end this year, but crazier things have happened in the NFL. You can read the rest of my MVP breakdown here.

5. One burning question for every team in the NFC South

Over the past few days, we’ve started the process of going through each division to look at the biggest question for each team heading into the upcoming season. Today, we’re going to cover the NFC South.

Here’s one burning question that Garrett Podell came up with for each team.

Buccaneers: Will Baker Mayfield have a third straight career year? “Mayfield has been a Pro Bowler in each of his first two years as the Buccaneers starting quarterback in both 2023 and 2024. Both of those seasons have been under now-departed offensive coordinators in 2023 (now-Panthers head coach Dave Canales) and in 2024 (now-Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen). Will Mayfield defy the odds and remain a top 10 quarterback once again in 2025 with another new offensive coordinator?”
Falcons: Can Atlanta make the leap and win the NFC South with Michael Penix Jr. at QB? “Last year, new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson needed to design an offense that was built to hide Kirk Cousins’ weaknesses in the mobility department. That’s why Atlanta had the NFL’s lowest play-action pass rate (7.6%) by a wide margin. … This offseason, Robinson can reintegrate the play-action pass in all forms to his playbook, which should further showcase fellow first-round picks at running back (Bijan Robinson), wide receiver (Drake London) and tight end (Kyle Pitts).”
Panthers: Will Bryce Young make a leap in Year 3? “The Panthers sought to empower their quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft with the selection of the draft’s top pure wide receiver prospect in Arizona All-American Tetairoa McMillan. … Young will now have two first-round wideouts at his disposal in McMillan and 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette and a deep, three-back committee at running back with Chuba Hubbard, former Cowboys lead back Rico Dowdle and rookie Trevor Etienne out of Georgia.”
Saints: How bad will things get for New Orleans in 2025? “The Saints are staring down a quarterback competition between Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough following Derek Carr’s offseason retirement that was triggered by a lingering shoulder injury. The team went 0-7 in the games Carr missed because of injury last season when Rattler (0-6) and Haener (0-1) were filling in. … The first year of first-time head coach Kellen Moore’s tenure in New Orleans could be outright dreadful.

To read Podell’s full answer for each question, be sure to click here.

6. Extra points: Anthony Richardson dealing with shoulder injury

This is always a busy time in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that’s happening, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.

Anthony Richardson out until at least training camp. The Colts QB competition could be over before it ever really even starts. Richardson is dealing with a shoulder injury and right now, there’s no timetable for his return. The injury is in his throwing shoulder, which is the same shoulder that Richardson had surgery on during his rookie year. Right now, the Colts are saying that surgery won’t be needed this time around and that Richardson only needs rest, but this will certainly be a situation to watch. We’ve got more details on his injury here.
Missouri trying to keep the Chiefs. The Missouri Senate approved a bill this week that would provided hundreds of millions of dollars in potential incentives for a new or renovated Chiefs stadium as long as the team stays in Missouri. The bill still has to pass the House, though, so nothing is set in stone. If the bill doesn’t pass, the Chiefs could end up leaving Missouri and heading for Kansas.
Bud Dupree gets extension from Chargers. The veteran linebacker, who signed a two-year deal with the Chargers in 2024, will likely be sticking around through the 2026 season after signing a one-year, $6 million extension this week, according to NFL Media. Dupree is going into his 11th NFL season.
Lions star reveals why he’s been sitting out. Amon-Ra St. Brown has been sitting out during OTAs and he revealed this week that it’s because he underwent surgery on his knee at some point this offseason. The good news for Lions fans is that the 25-year-old said he should be good to go for training camp. “I had a surgery on my knee after the season just to clean some stuff up, so I’ve been rehabbing that, but I should be good to go for training camp,” St. Brown said, via ESPN.