While Aaron Rodgers is leaving the Steelers hanging tending to his personal life, Ray Fittipaldo is confident he wants to play. For the first time in his career, he is a free agent, not under contract. He knows that contract is sitting out there waiting for him to sign—so he is waiting.
But Fittipaldo—loosely, it seems—believes he will sign once he has his personal life in order. “I don’t think Rodgers wants to end his career with a bad taste in his mouth from the Jets experience”, he said Sunday night on the #1 Cochran Sports Showdown. “Two bad seasons, one he was injured [for]. And they flew him in there and told him, ‘We don’t want you back’. I think there’s something to prove there. I do think he wants to play. He’s just got these personal issues he has to deal with”.
In mid-April, by which point the Steelers already offered him a contract, Aaron Rodgers spoke out in public. On The Pat McAfee Show, he addressed some of the speculation surrounding his status. In so many words, he said his focus was on his personal life, with some people close to him dealing with unspecified issues. He did acknowledge that he was leaving the door open for retirement and wasn’t thinking about football at the moment.
More recently, Ian O’Connor, Rodgers’ biographer, speculated that those issues will be resolved soon. Perhaps the issues are practices in the spring that he doesn’t feel like attending, but I digress. Whatever it is, most people who are not Aaron Rodgers seem to think he wants to play.
With the Packers having drafted and developed Jordan Love, they traded Aaron Rodgers to the Jets in 2023. Near the beginning of his first game with the team, he tore his Achilles, missing the rest of the season. That injury lingered and forced him to spend his offseason rehabbing. During the 2024 season, he certainly appeared to be suffering the lingering effects in his performance.
Despite putting up largely solid statistical numbers, the Jets failed, Aaron Rodgers going 5-12. It was the worst season of his career, and only his second time with double-digit losses. He went 6-10 in his first season as the Packers’ starter all the way back in 2008.
Assuming he signs with the Steelers, Rodgers will then have a chance to lead Mike Tomlin to his first losing season. Tomlin has been the Steelers’ head coach since 2007 and has never finished worse than 8-8. He has had a few close calls, though, including 7-8 going into a finale.
After the 2024 season, the Jets decided to release him. They had Rodgers fly out, and after what he perceived as only a brief conversation of formalities, they told him they were parting company. During his McAfee interview, he very clearly took umbrage with how that played out. It was the only time he really seemed animated, so perhaps there is truth to this idea that he is fueled by revenge. And the Steelers play the Jets in Week 1.
