From the random department, Carolina Panthers long snapper J.J. Jansen recently offered his thoughts on the Pittsburgh Steelers during an appearance on the NFL Daily podcast, where he discussed former teammate Aaron Rodgers, and current Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy.
Despite expressing confidence that McCarthy and Rodgers will work well together again in Pittsburgh, Jansen wasn’t overly optimistic about the Steelers’ ceiling in 2026.
“I just don’t know that the team’s all that interesting, especially
when you consider that division’s also got the Bengals and the Ravens… I still feel like they are a 9-8 team,” Jansen said. “They’re going to beat some teams that they shouldn’t and they’re going to lose some games that they shouldn’t. I would certainly trust the ball in Aaron’s hand in the fourth quarter, but it’s just an uninteresting 9-8, 10-7, 7-10 kind of team for me.”
Jansen, who is entering his 18th NFL season, is the NFL’s longest-tenured active player and the Carolina Panthers’ all-time leader in games played with 277. Although he signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2008, he never appeared in a regular season game before eventually landing in Carolina. Still, he was around the organization during the early years of the Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy era.
For what it’s worth, Jansen’s prediction closely mirrors what the Steelers have become in recent years. Pittsburgh has finished with between nine and 10 wins in six of the last eight seasons and has not won a playoff game since the 2016 season, when the Steelers advanced to the AFC Championship Game before falling to the New England Patriots. During that span, Mike Tomlin has continued his streak of never posting a losing season, but the franchise has struggled to break through as a true postseason contender.
That, ultimately, is why the Steelers hired McCarthy. The organization is hoping a new voice and a reunion with Rodgers can elevate Pittsburgh beyond the cycle of respectable regular seasons that end without playoff success.
Whether McCarthy can finally help the Steelers escape that pattern remains to be seen as Rodgers appears set to make what could be the final stop of his Hall of Fame career.
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