This offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been involved in another drawn-out process while trying to add a player to their team. Last year, it was Brandon Aiyuk. This year, it’s been Aaron Rodgers. For months, the Steelers have pursued Rodgers, but there’s been no indication about what the quarterback will do with his future. However, we finally have an answer. Rodgers is reportedly set to sign with the Steelers soon. According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, the Steelers are as happy as anyone to finally have a conclusion to this saga.
“I think that while this team has been in limbo, there’s been this sense of inevitability that Aaron Rodgers would eventually sign,” Pryor said Thursday on SportsCenter. “But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t picked up on some relief among the people in the building in Pittsburgh.
“Let me tell you, these guys are getting tired of being asked about Aaron Rodgers and what’s gonna happen if he signs or maybe if he potentially comes here. There’s been a lot of hypothetical questions. This team is happy to be done with the hypotheticals and be moving into a concrete reality that Aaron Rodgers is going to be a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
The entirety of the Steelers’ fanbase is probably happy that there’s an actual answer to what Rodgers is going to do. There have been multiple signs seemingly pointing to Rodgers joining the Steelers. However, he indicated that he was unsure what his future held, not ruling out retirement.
With OTAs starting, the exhaustion surrounding the Rodgers conversation likely only increased. Rodgers’ potential future was a big topic of discussion. For players who were actually at OTAs, that was probably frustrating.
Now, the questions about where Rodgers is at can stop. According to reports, he’s set to join the Steelers for mandatory minicamp. The team can move forward with more certainty about their direction. Their roster isn’t perfect, and they could still make other moves, but at least they’re finally settled at quarterback.
That was a big domino that needed to fall. While many Steelers expressed faith in Mason Rudolph, the team’s ceiling with him didn’t feel very high. Rodgers can help the Steelers compete in the postseason. Maybe they’ll finally win a postseason game, too. Pittsburgh is probably hoping that Rodgers can prove that he was worth the wait.
