After the Pittsburgh Steelers unveiled their 2025 schedule, it became clear that the NFL did not have any insider information on whether QB Aaron Rodgers is going to sign with the Steelers. Otherwise, the Steelers’ Week 1 opener against the New York Jets would have been a primetime game, not a 1 PM kickoff. NFL vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling Mike North even addressed that after the schedule came out.
But no one has closed the door on Rodgers signing with the Steelers yet, either. In fact, insider Mark Kaboly is as close to certain as you can be that Rodgers will sign with the Steelers.
“Probably 99.9 percent,” Kaboly said Friday when asked by Andrew Fillipponi about Rodgers’ chances of signing with the team during an appearance on the PM Team on 93.7 The Fan. “It’s just a matter of when.”
The question then becomes will he sit out most of the spring practices and into the summer? Or will he follow Ben Roethlisberger’s advice and get in ahead of mandatory minicamp?
“Definitely before minicamp,” Kaboly said. “But it could be that final week of OTAs.”
When Fillipponi pressed him about whether Rodgers would sign by the end of May, Kaboly said, “Yeah.”
The Steelers would certainly like to have Rodgers in before mandatory minicamp. The sooner Rodgers gets into Pittsburgh, the sooner he can start building relationships both on and off the field. That was the crux of Roethlisberger’s argument for Rodgers getting in as soon as possible.
Sure, Rodgers needs to learn offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s terminology. More importantly, Aaron Rodgers needs to understand how his receivers run their routes. And the offense needs to get familiar with how Rodgers operates in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage.
Plus, Aaron Rodgers and Smith need to develop some sort of working relationship. One of the things that stresses some people about Rodgers is that he loves bringing his people with him. That can be players like WR Allen Lazard. He’s also brought coaches previously. It’s hard to imagine at this stage of the game that head coach Mike Tomlin wants to make any alterations to his coaching staff.
That means Rodgers and Smith have to gain a solid understanding of each other. The sooner they get started on that, the better for everyone involved. And there are those who are already questioning the pairing. In order to make that work, Aaron Rodgers needs to be involved earlier in the process so he and Smith can figure out the best way to run the offense in 2025.
