With the NFL draft only a few weeks away, the Pittsburgh Steelers still don’t have an answer from Aaron Rodgers. It doesn’t seem like there’s any clarity with the situation. While Mike Tomlin didn’t set a hard deadline on Rodgers, Art Rooney II seemed a little surprised it was taking this long. The Steelers look like Rodgers’ only option if he wants to play in 2025, so it’s a little confusing why he hasn’t made a decision yet. NFL insider James Palmer revealed that the Steelers might start trying to press Rodgers for an answer.
“As of right now, everybody is being patient,” Palmer said Friday on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel. “My understanding is there’s some people in that building that are losing some of their patience. Some of them may be in that locker room, as they sit and wait for Aaron Rodgers to make his decision.
“People still believe this is the most likely landing spot for Aaron Rodgers. The way it impacts things is, they’d like that answer and they may start pushing him, to my understanding, as we approach draft week.”
That would be a new development. The last time Tomlin talked about a deadline, he mentioned training camp. Obviously, that’s still months away. The Steelers shouldn’t wait that long to hear from Rodgers. The rest of the league isn’t on pause just because Rodgers hasn’t made a choice yet. The Steelers can’t sit in limbo with Rodgers forever.
Making the draft the deadline to sign Rodgers makes sense. The Steelers have shown a ton of interest in this quarterback class. They’ve brought in most of the top prospects for visits. Based on most of the recent reports, it sounds like they’re going to draft a quarterback. The only question is what round they’ll target that position.
Rodgers would likely impact that. If they sign him, he’ll be their starter for 2025. They could take a swing on a more developmental prospect further down the board. However, if they don’t sign him, they might want a player who’s more pro-ready.
Palmer elaborated on what could happen with Rodgers.
“We are starting to have some sort of a clock. The Steelers didn’t want to put one on it, but it looks like we’re starting to have some sort of clock now on where this is going to go,” he said. “Deadlines make things happen. The draft week is potentially, in a lot of people’s minds, a deadline for Aaron Rodgers.”
Although Tomlin seemed content to wait on Rodgers, other members of the organization don’t sound as patient. While Rodgers has every right to take his time, the Steelers also have the right to decide that they’re done waiting. Rodgers might be the best quarterback left on the market, but he’s not the same player he once was. He might not be worth all this hassle.
He’s not even on the team yet, and there’s already drama surrounding him and the Steelers. If he can’t make a decision by the time the draft rolls around, maybe the Steelers are better off moving on from the four-time NFL MVP. They’ve been able to win games despite poor quarterback play before.
