The Steelers may not have “assurances” from Aaron Rodgers, but either way, they certainly know more than we do. They also know more about the situation than the beat writers who talk about it. Rodgers himself seemed to help enlighten us all a bit about his situation last week, but there remains no resolution.
But even Steelers owner Art Rooney II said that he’s hearing things about Aaron Rodgers coming and signs are positive. That might not be any kind of promise, but it has to be based on something. And that seems to be the operation under which everyone is working, including Gerry Dulac.
“They’re not flying by the seat of their pants”, the veteran Steelers reporter said last week on The Rich Eisen Show about the Rodgers situation. “I think they truly believe that he will sign with them and that they will go forward. But they are well aware that that may not happen. But I believe that they believe he will be on this team. Now, when? I don’t know that”.
The obvious question is what makes the Steelers truly believe Aaron Rodgers will sign with them, assuming that they do. The fact that there is no other current suitor for him has to help. Perhaps, from their conversations, they got the sense that he does want to play and just has unresolved life issues.
When he spoke recently, Rodgers said that there are people in his inner circle dealing with some serious matters that currently have his attention. At least in the abstract, not knowing the details, that’s an honorable thing. Of course, it doesn’t help the Steelers any, since they’re trying to make plans for the future. And the rest of us on the outside are just trying to figure out what their patterns mean.
“That would be my feeling just because the [Steelers] are willing to wait” for Rodgers, Dulac said. And that, of course, is not supposition, as Rooney said they’re willing to wait. And actually, HC Mike Tomlin went even further in his public willingness to allow Rodgers his space, with no deadline.
But the Steelers did speak to Rodgers, and even if it’s just a feeling based on his words and his body language, they’re going on something. “Otherwise”, Dulac said, “I think they would have had some other indicator to think, ‘Okay, you know what? Plan B better come into effect here very soon’. And they’re just not there yet, so I think he will be on this roster”.
Notably, Dulac also offered that nothing Rodgers said last week surprised the Steelers. Rodgers mentioned retirement, so presumably they were aware that that was on his mind. The R word has floated about around him all offseason—he even contemplated it years ago. But regardless of what they do or do not know, they have no choice but to wait, anyway.
