The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense clearly did a lot wrong on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. It was arguably Aaron Rodgers’ worst game of his entire NFL career, as he missed several big-time throws that could have swung the outcome. The Steelers ended up losing 25-10, but with better offensive execution, they had every chance to win. The offensive struggles highlighted ongoing concerns about play-calling, timing, and the ability to get the football to the right players in critical moments.
Adding to the conversation, Steelers insider Gerry Dulac revealed in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article that Rodgers has expressed a desire to get Warren more involved, preferring him over Kenneth Gainwell in most situations. This sentiment echoes what many fans and analysts have been saying all offseason: Warren is the dynamic playmaker the Steelers need on the field more often. If Pittsburgh wants to maximize its offensive potential, finding ways to get Warren the football consistently could be a game-changing adjustment.
“I’d love to see Jaylen [Warren] on first, second or third down, but I love seeing Kenny on first, second, third down, too,” Rodgers said. “They’re a luxury, those two guys. I think we need to keep getting Jaylen more runs on first and second down and mix them in on third down. But Kenny’s done a great job on third down for us.”
Gainwell has played very well for the Steelers and has made the most of every opportunity he has been given. This is not a slight at him. Rodgers has made it clear that Gainwell can still be mixed in, even on critical downs like third. However, Rodgers would like to see Warren start more drives on first and second down specifically.
Warren would also see action on third down, but Rodgers wanted to emphasize that he still values having Gainwell on the field. Overall, this is more of a compliment to how important and productive Rodgers believes Warren is in this offense. Rodgers is not the only Steeler who would like to see Warren get the football more. Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth also gave an interesting and telling quote on the subject.
“He’s untackle-able,” Freiermuth said. “He’s a guy you can get the ball in his hand in any circumstances. He can break tackles and win.”
The Steelers need to use Warren as a bell cow. Elite backs like Christian McCaffrey routinely get 20-plus touches a game, and Warren has shown he can be just as productive, even with far fewer opportunities.
Warren’s efficiency with limited touches proves he can do even more if given the chance. Many pundits believe Smith and this Steelers offense need to get him the football more to maximize their production.
Of course, there is also the risk that giving Warren the ball more could reduce his efficiency. However, many believe this is a risk the Steelers need to take at this stage of the 2025 season.
Do you agree with Aaron Rodgers and Pat Freiermuth that Jaylen Warren needs to be getting the football more? Why or why not?
Morgan Geekie’s contract is one of the best values in the NHL. The 27-year-old signed a six-year, $33 million extension in June, giving him a $5.5 million cap hit through 2031. Coming off far and away his best season, scoring 33 goals and 57 points in 77 games, the deal looked team-friendly for the Bruins. There was some risk in committing long-term, given how much of an outlier the season appeared to be, but the cap hit was still more than reasonable, even if his numbers regressed.
Nineteen games into the first season of this deal, Geekie hasn’t regressed at all. In fact, he’s actually outpacing last year by a wide margin. With 12 goals and 18 points, he’s projected to score roughly 52 goals and 78 points over an 82-game season. If general manager Don Sweeney felt good about the extension based on last season’s production, he must be over the moon at the way this season has unfolded.
At $5.5 million, Geekie’s current pace is giving the Bruins clear top-line output at a mid-range cap number. In a salary-capped league, deals like this are rare and give the Bruins room to invest elsewhere in the long term. Team-friendly deals when resigning players have become somewhat of the norm for Sweeney throughout his tenure as the team’s general manager and it’s allowed the Bruins to maintain a competitive level throughout the majority of his time in Boston.
Realistically, Geekie probably won’t maintain this torrid pace over the course of the entire season. That said, he is playing across from David Pastrnak who has been one of the most dominant forwards in the entire NHL for the majority of his career. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for both players to maintain this pace and be complete difference makers for the Bruins the rest of the way.
The number that looks particularly high for Geekie this season is his 26.1% shooting percentage. Though that number looks unsustainable at first glance, it’s important to note that he had a 22% shooting percentage last season, which was a jump from his 13.1% from the season prior. While the number keeps rising, the fact that he was able to sustain such a high mark last season means that this season’s mark maintaining its level throughout the season isn’t impossible.
When you compare Geekie’s $5.5 million cap hit to other forwards producing similar goal totals, the value becomes clear: Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6M), Martin Necas (newly signed $11.5M), Leon Draisaitl ($14M), Bo Horvat ($8.5M), Cole Caufield ($7.85M), Pastrnak ($11.25M), Sidney Crosby ($8.7M), and rising star Wyatt Johnson ($8.4M). All of these players are in the same goal-scoring neighborhood as Geekie, yet the Bruins are paying significantly less for someone producing at a comparable level.
Other players with the same or higher goal totals have either yet to sign extensions, such as Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and Kiefer Sherwood, or are at the tail end of their careers with friendlier cap hits, like John Tavares and Brad Marchand. For the production Geekie has delivered, his contract ranks as one of the biggest steals in the NHL.
Playing alongside Pastrnak has obviously made things easier for Geekie, but it’s also not fair to just call him a passenger at this point. Nobody in the world is going to look at the Bruins and say that Geekie and Pastrnak are the same caliber of player, but it’s also not fair to say anyone could produce the way Geekie has, dating back to last season. Geekie’s skillset complements Pastrnak’s in a very big way. Ultimately, when a player with legitimate finishing talent gets to play next to a top-three goal scorer in the league, it’s not surprising that the results look amplified.
The Bruins have also put a lot more trust in Geekie since his first season with the team. His average ice time has increased every season since signing with the Bruins back in 2023. His first season saw him average 15:25 of ice time over 76 games. The number jumped to 16:55 of ice time last season, and it’s gone up again this season to 18:05 minutes per game. This increased ice time, including nearly 70% offensive-zone starts over the past two seasons, has allowed Geekie and Pastrnak to feast and there’s no indication this will be changing any time soon.
The Bruins are currently tied with the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators with 22 points apiece in the Atlantic Division, though the Bruins have played one more game than the Senators and two more than the Canadiens. Still, this season has gone better than anyone could have expected of the Bruins, especially after a six-game losing streak created some difficult conversations. The team has bounced back since then and Geekie has been as important a cog in the machine as anybody else on the roster. His contract should only increase in value as the NHL’s salary cap continues to increase, putting the Bruins in good shape when other young players require extensions in the future.