Mark Madden: Steelers have lost the sense of who they are ... or were

Aaron Rodgers will wear No. 8 for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Not No. 12. That was never a possibility. There’s no comparing him to Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh, just like there was no comparing him to Joe Namath in New York.

Rodgers will talk to the media in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Get ready for Rodgers to slobber all over Mike Tomlin. Not sure if we get flat-earth platitudes or anti-vax talk immediately.

Media-wise, Rodgers will have it easy in Pittsburgh. Ninety percent are stooges, literally or emotionally under the tent. It will be a lot less stressful than New York.

Everything with Rodgers will be good at first. He’s a nailed-on Hall-of-Fame quarterback. He’s larger than life.

But then he’s got to play football.

Lots of optimism is being invented.

Rodgers’ stats last year weren’t terrible. But they were inflated by garbage-time output.

Rodgers threw as many touchdowns (28) as Josh Allen. That’s two more than Patrick Mahomes.

That doesn’t mean he’s better than those guys. Duh.

Rodgers was the Steelers’ third choice at quarterback. That’s the current story.

The Steelers reportedly tried hard to pry Matthew Stafford from the Los Angeles Rams. They also allegedly wanted to keep Justin Fields.

The latter isn’t believable.

Fields signed a two-year deal with the Jets at $20 million per. That’s chump change for a quarterback, though Rodgers is coming cheap (as per his word) at just $10 million guaranteed. Even if he maxes out via incentives, etc., he still won’t make as much as Fields.

If the Steelers wanted Fields, they could have easily paid more than the Jets.

But perhaps Fields didn’t trust the Steelers to use him right, or even use him at all.

Smart man.

The Steelers’ offensive approach is neanderthal. Maybe Rodgers forces change in that regard. Perhaps he can switch plays at the line, like Russell Wilson wasn’t allowed to.

The Steelers organization is apparently freaked out by not winning a playoff game in eight seasons. That’s understandable. But to patchwork via signing a 41-year-old quarterback in an attempt to scratch out one measly playoff win doesn’t make sense.

What if the Steelers do win a playoff game but are worse off as a team afterward?

What if the Steelers don’t win a playoff game?

The Steelers have lost the plot, their sense of who they are. Or were.

It shouldn’t be about clawing your way to 9-8 and hoping for a playoff victory. It should be about having higher aspirations. (It used to be.)

The Steelers have become small-time.

The usual suspects are bleating, “You can’t tank! This franchise doesn’t tank! That’s not the Steelers!” (They fairly beat their chests. They might as well be hawking team merch.)

But you can rebuild.

The process can be organic.

You can take a step backward to take several forward.

Trumpeting the nobility of not tanking has gotten tiresome.

As is the notion that the Steelers “owe” certain veterans something: Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. “You can’t rebuild! Those guys deserve better!”

They absolutely don’t.

If they were good enough, they would have made the team better and won more by now.

Consider how the Steelers defense — with those players on it and a monster payroll — has performed in playoff games during their tenures. Not great.

If they owe Heyward, Watt and Fitzpatrick anything, it’s a trade to a legit contender. Because that would also benefit the Steelers.

But never forget this about the Steelers: It’s not a lie if you believe it.

Moving forward, that will be the ending to a lot of my columns about this franchise.