It may only be a matter of time before Aaron Rodgers makes a decision and signs with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That said, head coach Mike Tomlin played it perfectly by saying there is no deadline for said decision on the team's end when he spoke to reporters at the NFL Owner's Meetings on Monday.
"Not to my knowledge," Tomlin said regarding a deadline for Rodgers, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "I don't know that we've approached it from a deadline perspective. Certainly, as I mentioned, you'd like to have settled circumstances, but deadlines don't often bring that to a head."
Putting any public pressure on Rodgers is unnecessary, and not a good idea if you want to remain in his good graces/want him to be your quarterback in 2025. And as much as Rodgers might want the Minnesota Vikings, the Steelers have the leverage of being his only viable non-retirement option right now.
Mike Tomlin is trying to talk himself into another starting QB if Aaron Rodgers spurns the Steelers
As it sits right now, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are the only quarterbacks on the Steelers' roster. General manager Omar Khan said it's a "safe assumption" a veteran quarterback will be added, whether it's Rodgers or not. Quarterback is also certainly on the draft radar for Pittsburgh.
After spending the 2024 season with the Tennessee Titans, Rudolph came back to Pittsburgh on a two-year, $7.5 million deal in March. If the season started today, he would be the Steelers' starting quarterback.
On that note, via Pryor, Tomlin said he'd be comfortable with Rudolph as the Steelers' starting quarterback.
"That's why we brought him back," Tomlin said. "I'm comfortable with that. We've been there before. He's a very capable guy."
Khan added he has "a lot of confidence" in Rudolph and it "made sense" to bring him back based on the team's experience with him.
Over his first five seasons with the Steelers (2019-2023), Rudolph started 13 regular season games and one playoff contest with an 8-5-1 combined record. So he is a known quantity. He made eight starts in 2019 when Ben Roethlisberger was out, but his best stretch came in 2023. He won three consecutive starts to end that regular season, with five touchdowns to one interception as he completed 68 percent of pass attempts in those games. He also averaged 236 passing yards per game during that stretch, 50 yards above the team's season average.
Tomlin referred to that stretch in 2023 as he expanded his thoughts about Rudolph.
"Anytime you experience something with somebody, there's growth, and I acknowledge [it] in that regard," Tomlin said. "Certainly the way he smiled in the face of adversity and delivered for us was significant, but not that I was shocked by it or didn't think it was within his framework or capabilities. We're excited about having him back, not only in terms of his talents but the guy that he is. He's a really good teammate. He's a really good football guy."
It seems increasingly unlikely Rodgers will leave the Steelers at the proverbial altar. But until he signs on the dotted line, Tomlin knows he has to be prepared for the possibility. If that means publicly embracing the idea of Rudolph as the QB1 next season right now, with the faint idea it may actually become the case, then so be it.