The Aaron Rodgers saga surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers must conclude. It's hard to fathom the future Hall of Famer taking much longer to decide if he will be the starting quarterback for Mike Tomlin's team this season. Rodgers has been dealing with some personal matters this offseason, which has put his football career aside.
New reports believe that Rodgers should decide soon, and all signs point to him joining Pittsburgh.
After Derek Carr announced his retirement from football, the New Orleans Saints were a possible dark horse landing spot for Rodgers. They needed a proven starter, and New Orleans would make sense as a destination. The Saints have some quality pieces, and they play in a weak division. It could have provided an easy path for the aging quarterback to leave the NFL on a high note.
Any Saints fans hoping that Rodgers would end up with their club had all those dreams destroyed. A new report claims New Orleans isn't interested in bringing in the seasoned signal caller. They just drafted a rookie quarterback high in the 2025 NFL Draft, and their lack of interest in Rodgers shouldn't be surprising.
The Steelers are again in a one-horse race to land the future Hall of Famer.
Pittsburgh Steelers remain the only option for Aaron Rodgers after the Saints dropped out of the race
Jeff Duncan, a Saints insider, believes there is no shot New Orleans ever had interest in Rodgers. They have some young pieces at the quarterback position and will move forward without a veteran of Rodgers' ilk. While it could have been a nice dream on paper, it wasn't a situation where the grizzled quarterback would've joined the Saints.
"No surprise here, but Aaron Rodgers never really was a consideration for the Saints in the wake of the Derek Carr retirement. At their current stages, they don't make sense for him, and he doesn't make sense for them," Duncan explained in a tweet.
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When you evaluate the Saints, it would have made sense for Rodgers to favor them over the Steelers. They have an offensive-minded coach with a defense that can hold its own. It's a dome environment for nine of their games this season, and two more will be played in warm environments. There were plenty of reasons for Rodgers to be interested in the Saints, but that ship has never pulled into port.
With Duncan's report in the NFL world, Pittsburgh returns as the lone spot for Rodgers to land. If he wants to play this year, it's the Steelers or bust for the 41-year-old quarterback. They have been the only team willing to wait around for the questionable personality. While he takes his time to commit, he only has one dance partner waiting for him.
Mike Tomlin continues to push his recruitment of Rodgers further. They speak regularly, and the Steelers must land this free agent if they want to win this year. He is their last hope if Tomlin wants an opportunity to extend his non-losing streak. Without Rodgers in the fold, this club would rely on Mason Rudolph or Will Howard, which wouldn't end well.