The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t set a deadline for Aaron Rodgers. But that doesn’t mean they’re avoiding looking at their calendar. According to NFL insider and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, an important date is upcoming for the Steelers’ future with Rodgers.
“There’s an important checkpoint coming up, at least from the Steelers’ standpoint,” Breer said on his SI podcast with co-host Connor Orr. “And that’s the veteran minicamp…I think we are entering a critical stage. We’re not at the critical date yet, but we are entering a critical stage. And I do think Tomlin, Arthur Smith, Omar Khan, it would be beneficial for all those guys to have him there for that. So at least they can kinda create a baseline heading into the summer.”
Following next week’s second set of OTAs, Pittsburgh will hold a three-day mandatory minicamp June 10-12. Players under contract who skip out are subject to fines. Of course, with Rodgers unsigned, he can’t be punished and has no obligation to attend. But it would mean missing the entire spring sessions, crucial time past that would have Rodgers and his teammates playing catch-up come training camp.
Breer also believes Rodgers isn’t attending OTAs to prevent the media from making a story about it and players being asked about his absence. Of course, that was the No. 1 storyline at practice this week and a topic every player was asked about, making Breer’s point moot.
What seems most likely is that Aaron Rodgers simply doesn’t want to attend offseason workouts. Or, at the least, show up to as few as possible. Playing the “I haven’t signed” card will be Rodgers’ rationale for why he didn’t attend, an easy and convenient answer to deflect criticism.
“I’ll bring guys to California in July before training camp to get them ready,” Breer said of what Rodgers could do to make up for lost time. “There are ways around this.”
Rodgers has hinted he will sign with Pittsburgh, offering his strongest confirmation during a recent concert in which he referenced the Steelers’ road trip to Chicago. He also denied having interest in the New Orleans Saints, which could be viewed as a signal to Pittsburgh he isn’t considering other opportunities.
Breer doesn’t indicate what would happen if Rodgers doesn’t attend and didn’t push the notion Pittsburgh would no longer pursue him. Naturally, that creates the obvious question. If there’s no consequence or payoff to this “critical stage,” then how is it critical in the first place? If the Steelers are content waiting into July, there’s no incentive for Rodgers to decide. It makes Breer’s words hollow and empty and the story less compelling than he attempts to present it.
