With each passing day, Pittsburgh Steelers fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with Aaron Rodgers. His desire to wait as he figures out his next destination, compounded by the fact that the Steelers still don’t really have a starting-caliber QB on their roster, is starting to send some into a panic.
FOX Sports’ Emmanuel Acho is not one of those people. Instead, he thinks Rodgers has earned the right to take as much time as he wants.
“The only way I would care, is if he was holding his teammates or his own franchise hostage. But he owes nothing to the Vikings, he owes nothing to the Steelers,” Acho said on The Facility on Tuesday. “Still, Rodgers, take all the time you want.”
That’s probably the last thing Steelers fans want to hear. However, there are two sides to every story, and Rodgers is at a major crossroads in his career. He’ll turn 42 toward the end of the 2025 season. While the Giants offer the potential for some stability, as he could stay in New York, both the Vikings and Steelers seem like better choices. At this point, many believe Minnesota is Rodgers’ preferred destination.
All this is to say that Aaron Rodgers has the right to take his time. It is free agency after all, and he can do what he pleases. That doesn’t mean everybody has to be happy about him waiting this long. Cam Heyward, one of the most important players in the history of the franchise, already seems to be a little annoyed at the amount of time all this is taking. It sure seems that people are starting to grow weary of the conversation.
Acho would have a problem if Aaron Rodgers was doing this to a team he was already on. For a comparison, he mentioned former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.
“I didn’t like what Ben Roethlisberger was doing with the Steelers,” Acho said. “‘I might retire. I might not retire.’ ‘Cause you owe something, you could suggest, to your teammates.”
In a variety of ways, the end of Roethlisberger’s career could have been handled better. It’s part of the reason the Steelers are in QB purgatory today.
Fortunately, at least the Steelers seem to feel like they’ll receive an answer soon. While Rodgers does reserve the right to take as long as he wants, it is undoubtedly holding up both the Steelers and Giants, as well as the other QB options on the market.
