Many thought there was a chance the Steelers would take a quarterback in the first round of the draft. They didn’t, and they didn’t feel the need to take one in the next four rounds either. It wasn’t until Round 6 that the Steelers landed Will Howard. The Ohio State product is a nice player, and certainly gives the Steelers good value in the sixth round. Yet, if anything can be taken away from the Steelers’ draft, it shows that they still plan on bringing in Aaron Rodgers.
ESPN’s Chris Canty is a little worried about that. He thinks Rodgers won’t be signing anytime soon, and also wonders what exactly the Steelers did to make themselves more attractive to him.
“I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is in a hurry to commit to playing football if the Pittsburgh Steelers are his only destination,” Canty said Monday on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike. “I don’t think it’s gonna happen in the short-term, I just don’t see that. If you’re looking at it from Rodgers’ perspective, what did Pittsburgh do over the weekend to make it a more attractive situation to go play there? Absolutely nothing.”
The Steelers clearly didn’t think they’d find their starting QB for 2025 in the draft. So, it makes sense to wonder whether any of their actions were aimed at luring Rodgers to sign with them. Even considering that, it’s hard to agree with Canty here.
Derrick Harmon doesn’t play on the offensive side of the ball, but his addition is going to help keep the ball in Rodgers’ hands (or Mason Rudolph’s) more often. And just two rounds after drafting Harmon the Steelers landed Kaleb Johnson, who ran for 1,537 yards last season in arguably the most competitive conference in college football. Adding Johnson immediately improves the run game. It doesn’t really make sense to act as if the Steelers did nothing that would make them more attractive to the 41-year-old Rodgers.
Considering Aaron Rodgers’ age, they don’t need to, either. They believe he will come to town regardless. Even if he doesn’t, what’s the point of acquiring assets to appease him? The Steelers would be happy to have Rodgers in 2025. But that doesn’t mean they need to do the same thing the Jets did over the past two seasons.
Now, Canty is right to wonder about Rodgers’ commitments to playing in 2025. He didn’t sound especially enthusiastic while speaking to Pat McAfee the week prior to the draft. There’s plenty of time for things to change, but that is a legitimate concern.
For now, the Steelers at least have insurance. Mason Rudolph knows the organization well, and having Will Howard in the room adds some extra promise. They’d like Rodgers more than those two, but they’re also not going to be bending over backwards, and they shouldn’t.
