This offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been on a wild ride. Last year, they watched as the team tried, and failed, to acquire Brandon Aiyuk. This year, a similar situation is playing out with Aaron Rodgers, except this time, it’s less clear what the holdup is. Rodgers did explain that he’s dealing with personal issues that are preventing him from fully committing to football. It’s a messy situation, and Bryant McFadden believes it’s left the Steelers’ fanbase in panic mode.
“This is a full-blown panic situation for the fanbase,” McFadden said Friday on CBS Sports HQ. “We’ve been talking consistently about this Aaron Rodgers Pittsburgh Steelers potential relationship. It feels like we’ve been doing this for six, seven months now, and we still have no indicator about what is actually going to happen.”
It is unclear when the Rodgers saga will end for Pittsburgh. Although Rodgers made it clear he’s not holding any team hostage, the Steelers seem content playing the waiting game. Mike Tomlin didn’t sound like he was going to rush Rodgers’ decision.
With Rodgers dealing with personal issues, it feels like his decision might not come for a while. How long are the Steelers willing to wait? Tomlin made it sound like he’d stay patient until training camp, but that’s still months away. There are other NFL activities scheduled between now and then. Should players be expected to wait that long for an answer?
Fans seem to be getting restless as well. The NFL draft is right around the corner, and it feels like the Steelers are working with no tangible plan under center. Quarterback is the most important position in football, and the Steelers have poorly managed it this offseason.
Now, Rodgers is the only appealing option left available. They could try to trade for Kirk Cousins, but that might be easier said than done. Quarterback isn’t a strength of this draft class, either. It’s doubtful that the Steelers could draft a signal caller that would give them an immediate upgrade at the position.
The way things are now, if the Steelers don’t sign Rodgers, it seems like Mason Rudolph will be their starting quarterback this year. In that scenario, their ceiling likely wouldn’t be very high. The Steelers won’t compete for a Super Bowl with Rudolph starting for the entire year. Maybe they could win a playoff game, but even that might be a stretch.
Right now, fans have reasons to panic. It’s not like quarterback is the Steelers’ only weakness, either. Getting Rodgers doesn’t automatically make them a Super Bowl contender. Pittsburgh ended the 2024 season on a down note, and now, fans could be in for a long 2025 season as well. There’s still time for the Steelers to figure out what they’re doing at quarterback, but there’s no telling when that will happen.
