Out of the remaining free agent quarterbacks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their eyes set on Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is a future first ballot Hall of Famer, but his play has declined in recent year and he has been embroiled in controversy, some of which involve his role as a teammate. Rodgers doesn’t react well to when wide receivers complain. Pittsburgh’s wide receivers, George Pickens and DK Metcalf, are known to have poor attitudes when things don’t go their way. Former New York Giants QB Phil Simms thinks this may be why Rodgers is attractive to the Steelers.
“Here’s the other thing, if you’re a wide receiver in Pittsburgh are you going to act up when Aaron Rodgers is quarterback? Well, if you do, you’ll never see the damn ball,” said Simms on the Bleav YouTube channel.
In his thee years with Pittsburgh, Pickens has had maturity issues, with head coach Mike Tomlin saying Pickens needs to “grow up” this last season. Pickens’ maturity issues and Rodgers leadership could blow up Pittsburgh’s face. But, Simms is making the argument that Rodgers’ refusal to pass to disruptive wide receivers will keep Pickens and Metcalf in line.
This may seem backward, but in Pickens’ case, there’s logic. Entering contract year, he’ an insanely talented player, but a good year both behaviorally and statistically could significantly improve his next contract. However, if Pickens gets on Rodgers’ bad side and Rodgers favors other receivers it will lower Pickens’ stats and in turn reduce the price of his second contract.
Metcalf just signed a five-year $150 million contract so that line of thinking does’t apply to him, but he is still an alpha-dog. Metcalf is going to want the ball and prove his worth, so appeasing Rodgers and avoiding problems in game or on the sideline will likely be at the forefront of Metcalf’s mind.
Relying on a quarterback’s vindictive side isn’t an ideal way to keep teammates in line. However, in a weird way, Simms point makes sense. I don’t think it would work, especially given how the relationship between Rodgers and New York Jets WR Garrett Wilson became fractured, but I can see the thought process.
