The Pittsburgh Steelers can display as much public confidence in Aaron Rodgers joining the team as they want. That doesn’t make it true. As far as insider Peter Schrager can tell, the Steelers have no updates on Rodgers’ status.
“From what I gather, Pittsburgh knows no more now than they did at the draft or before the draft,” Schrager told The Pat McAfee Show Thursday.
Pittsburgh’s waiting game with Rodgers has stretched from March into April and now through the first week of May. A new pope has been elected before Rodgers has determined his 2025 plans.
During the draft, owner and president Art Rooney II doubled down on the that belief Rodgers will eventually sign with the Steelers. But among the team’s brass, Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, and himself, only Rooney has offered anything close to a deadline. During an interview with Steelers Nation Radio, Rooney suggested the start of OTAs on May 27 is when Pittsburgh needs to know Rodgers’ plans.
It wasn’t an explicit demand but a “polite” way to send a message. It was the second time Rooney implied a deadline, noting earlier in the offseason that the team wasn’t willing to wait “forever” for Rodgers.
Many have speculated that the Steelers and Rodgers have a secret deal in place. Reasons for why it wouldn’t be announced are unclear, perhaps to allow Rodgers to skip his loathed offseason program (even if it runs counter to Rooney’s above comments), but Schrager doesn’t believe an agreement has been made.
“I don’t think there’s this assumed handshake deal,” he said. “‘Hey, don’t worry, I’ll get there.’ They would’ve announced it. They would’ve signed him.”
If Rodgers doesn’t sign with Pittsburgh, Schrager suggested Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins as a backup plan. The Falcons have been publicly open to trading him but seem just as content to keep him as Michael Penix Jr.’s backup. For now, the Steelers have that idea on the backburner. They remain in the same holding pattern they were in mid-March. Sitting and waiting for Rodgers.
