Stephen A's Take: Stephen A reacts to Aaron Rodgers being Steelers QB and inside news on Shedeur Sanders draft slippage.

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown. 

Support the show: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenasmith

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced that Aaron Rodgers will be under
center for the team this season. The news comes more
than eighty days since the start a free agency in
seventy days after Rogers visited the team. According to ESPN's
Adam Schefter, Rogers plans to fly to Pittsburgh on Friday
and join the Steelers ahead of next week's mandatory mini camp. Okay,
I'm ecstatic because I'm a lifelong Steelers fan. Let me

(00:25):
be very very clear. I'm ectated because you ain't have
no damn quarterback. I know Aaron Rodgers wasn't great last year.
I know he hasn't been great over the last several years. Okay,
but the bottom line is this is one of the
greatest quarterbacks who have ever played the game. On his
worst day, he's better than an average quarterback. And when
you look at the Steelers quarterback room of Mason Rudolph
Skyla Thompson, and Will Howard, who you'd just drafted out

(00:47):
of Ohio State, you damn right, they desperately needed Aaron Rodgers.
So guess what, even with what they had in the
locker room, you still have Russell Wilson and Justin Fields
last year. He could be an upgrade from both of
those dudes, which means that Aaron Rodgers would be the
best quarterback that the Pittsburgh steel has had in this
stable over the last several years, and in the same

(01:08):
division as Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. I'll be damned.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna be mad about that. Now,
let me tell you for the record, what is gonna
piss me off if this is true. If that damn
Shadoor Sanders, who dropped to the fifth round and a
one hundred and forty fourth overall pick, ends up being

(01:32):
better this season, assuming he's gonna get the QB one spot,
and I don't know that's gonna happen, okay, because you
got a quarterback that they drafted a couple of quarterbacks, okay,
and they already had quarterbacks in this stable in Cleveland.
I'm telling you right now, if Shador Sanders wins this

(01:53):
job and he's the start quarterback for the Cleveland Browns
and he goes out there and balls, I am going
to be pissed because the Steelers could have drafted him.
And I believe that Oman Khan and Mike Tomlin would
have drafted him if ownership didn't influence their decision. Now
I don't have any proof of this, but I'm telling

(02:14):
you everything that I was hearing about the draft and
what happened to Shador Sanders, the willingness to let him
slide all the way to the fifth round of the
one hundred and forty fourth overall pick, where about six
different quarterbacks were selected before him that came from the
top of several franchises. I don't know why. I'm wondering why.
One day, I'm gonna find out why sooner than later.

(02:36):
But for this moment, all I'm gonna say is, I'm
happy with Amy Rodgers being a stealer. I accept the
fact that Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson's gonna be better
than him, because they're better than almost everybody outside of
Patrick Mahomes and obviously Josh Allen. But I'm telling you
right now, Shador Sanders better not end up being a
better quarterback this season than anybody to stealer have, including

(03:00):
Amar Rodgers. I'm gonna be apoplectic if that happens, and
I'll leave y'all on that note. That tip of this
distin