The Pittsburgh Steelers are going through mandatory minicamp this week at the team facilities. New head coach Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff are going through drills and workouts with many familiar faces as well as some new ones that joined Pittsburgh in the 2026 offseason. One known individual to return is one that McCarthy has coached in the past during his NFL career, who is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers had a solid first season in the Steel City, leading the franchise to an AFC North Division title. The team is hoping its efforts to retool pay off and that it can win a playoff game.
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Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and Quarterback Aaron Rodgers go over plays in an NFL game in their time in Green Bay.
Despite the division title, the play on the field was inconsistent on both sides of the football during the 2025 season. This includes the offensive side, which the new head coach will look to improve in his first year with the Black and Gold. However, McCarthy may not have to look far to fix some of the problems on offense for 2026.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently shed some light on a situation many may not have been aware of during his appearance on the Steelers Collective podcast. During the show, Fittipaldo mentioned that Rodgers seemed to have a chemistry with one player in particular. The contributor he brought up is none other than wide receiver DK Metcalf.
"Did you ever have yourself wondering last year when it came to the chemistry between DK [Metcalf] and Aaron [Rodgers]," Fittipadlo asked. "I think this was during the open window of today's practice, but man the chemistry between those two so, so much better. We gotta see it carry over into training camp. We gotta see it carry over into the regular season. But, if those two get on the same page, look out. They were not on the same page last year."
While it was clear at many different times when watching that Metcalf was frustrated on the field, this apparent issue was not really discussed much in 2025. The organization did a great job of bringing in pieces to help the offense, especially getting another big wide receiver like Metcalf when it traded for Michael Pittman Jr. It was then able to add to that when it drafted wide receiver Germie Bernard in April from Alabama.
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Steelers new wide receiver Germie Bernard scores a touchdown as he basically walks into the end zone during the SEC Championship Game with Alabama against Georgia in 2025.
Steelers' Chance To Truly Transcend Offense In 2026
The offense from the Steelers was pedestrian in 2025, as the team was 25th in the NFL in total offense with 305.6 yards per game. However, this new report from Fittipaldo gives some perspective as to why that was. With the chemistry appearing to be improving from what he has seen in practice, that is great news for an offense that needs to look like a more modern NFL one in 2026.
Metcalf saw his production reduced compared to prior seasons in his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025. The seven-year veteran had 850 yards receiving and six touchdowns in his first year with the Black and Gold. He had not posted less than 900 yards in a season before 2025 and the touchdown total tied for the second-lowest he has seen in his career as well.
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Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf (4) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
While it is certainly encouraging that the organization recognized a glaring need to add skilled players at the wide receiver position, there is more encouragement now from the observation Fittipaldo made about practices.
If Rodgers and Metcalf truly were not on the same page in 2025, that played a huge role in his dip in production for the team. However, given the additions at the position and a better look from a chemistry standpoint, this season has the potential to be a huge bounce back year as Metcalf and Rodgers team up again in the Steel City.
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