If you thought we were nearing a resolution in the Aaron Rodgers saga, think again. As the Pittsburgh Steelers anxiously await a decision from the 41-year-old quarterback, the latest report suggests this is going to linger on longer than anyone initially expected.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport spoke on the Rodgers situation and believes we could see 2023 play out all over again—when Rodgers didn't find a new home until draft week.
“I don’t get the sense he’s in a hurry at all. I really don’t, and there’s no deadline for him to be,” Rapoport said. “He doesn’t have to decide by any time. He sort of controls this thing. There’s no actual deadline. So if you’re the Giants or the Vikings or the Steelers or whoever ends up signing Aaron Rodgers, if it’s anyone, then you’d like it now. But the next point is do you draft someone? And that’s a month or so away. All of us would like this done sooner rather than later. I don’t get the sense Rodgers is in any hurry at all. Could it go all the way to the draft like it did two years ago? Maybe it could.”
Based on how slowly things have progressed so far, this doesn't come as a surprise, but it's annoying nonetheless.
The ball is in Rodgers' court and he knows it. Now he's going to take his time to leverage NFL teams' desperation into the greatest possible situation this year. Many have speculated that the four-time MVP could be holding out for a shot to land with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't hit the panic button if they miss out on Aaron Rodgers
As pathetic as it seems, the Pittsburgh Steelers can't pull out of the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes (that is if the goal is to actually win a playoff game this year). Rodgers still gives this team the best shot at postseason success, and there's never been a more realistic scenario where the future Hall of Famer ends up in Pittsburgh.
But if the Steelers ultimately miss out on Rodgers, they can't enter desperation mode at quarterback.
They did during the 2022 offseason when Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement from the team. Because the team unwisely failed to take a proactive approach when they could see the writing on the wall with Big Ben, they backed themselves into a corner and were locked into selecting a quarterback. This resulted in reaching for Kenny Pickett in the first round.
Though General Manager Omar Khan and Assistant GM Andy Weidl are running the front office now, they can't repeat this pitiful mistake from former GM Kevin Colbert. If that means the Steelers need to bite the bullet with Mason Rudolph as their starter for a season, so be it. The last thing they can afford to do is panic and take whichever quarterback falls to them in the first round.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot riding on the Aaron Rodgers decision, and quite frankly, the outcome will dictate Pittsburgh's chances of competing in the postseason this year. But even so, they can't hit the panic button if Rodgers takes up until the NFL Draft to decide where he wants to play in 2025.