The Pittsburgh Steelers waited to draft a quarterback until the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft when they took Ohio State’s Will Howard off the board. While Howard is a nice addition to the group, a quarterback room made up of Howard, Mason Rudolph, and Skylar Thompson doesn’t inspire confidence for the upcoming season. Aaron Rodgers is the obvious option to fix that issue for the Steelers, but he has yet to officially make his decision.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the Steelers have a strong belief that he will eventually sign.
“The Steelers firmly believe that he will sign with them,” Dulac said via 102.5 WDVE’s Morning Show with Randy Baumann. “It’s less likely that he won’t be their quarterback.”
Reports surfaced from both Dianna Russini and Josina Anderson that the Steelers were in contact with Rodgers during draft week. Anderson said that they gave him a deadline by the draft, but that obviously came and went with no reported news.
Team President Art Rooney II went on Steelers Nation Radio during the draft and was asked about the Rodgers situation. He once again sounded pretty confident that a deal would eventually get done. There was no definitive language used, but he did say that they “may get word soon” with the offseason program inching closer.
The voluntary portion of the offseason workouts started last week, but it’s no big deal for him to miss those. The first offseason training activities will begin on May 27. While not mandatory, I would think the Steelers have a very strong preference that their quarterback attends as much of the offseason program as possible to build rapport with the team and install the offense.
Rodgers sure made it seem like he was working on nobody’s timeline but his own during his Pat McAfee Show appearance a couple weeks ago. But the Steelers hold some leverage in the situation being the only viable option remaining for him to play in 2025. Unless he wants a forced retirement, he has to play ball to a certain extent.
The last time Rooney spoke with the media about this topic, he said they wouldn’t wait forever for Rodgers. His tone felt a little more relaxed this time, which could be because of those reported ongoing conversations between Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers throughout last week.
