What questions does Aaron Rodgers need to answer in his first appearance with the Steelers?
The Steelers open minicamp today, with Aaron Rodgers, and he brings with him a great deal of speculation and consternation. His will-he-or-won’t-he saga fueled sports talk shows for months, driven by random opinion and engagement farming as much as anything. With all of that finally behind us, though, there are still questions to answer.
So which are the questions Aaron Rodgers should be answering today, his first day in front of the media? He has not been an employee for months, so this is his first formal appearance in quite some time. That was entirely by his choice, though, as he could have signed with the Steelers at virtually any point.
Surely, why he didn’t sign with the Steelers sooner will be a tentpole question reporters ask Rodgers. As with so much else he says and does, he had an unconventional free agency, particularly from an outside perspective. It appears he and the Steelers had greater communication than we knew, but, like Nancy Drew, Rodgers loves a good mystery.
Aside from the timeline of his signing, and what prior arrangement or understanding he had with the Steelers, what else ought we to know from Aaron Rodgers at this point in time? Perhaps whether he plans to work with teammates during the down time before training camp, given the time he’s missed.
A more practical question might pertain to his fit in the Steelers’ scheme. How will he mesh with Arthur Smith, for example, and how much input will he have? Did the Steelers clearly express to Rodgers that he will have considerable freedom within the offense?
Of course, odds are we may not get many straight answers, to these and other questions. Aaron Rodgers has a history of playing games with the media, and he loves a good non-answer. He is a savvy veteran who has faced just about any question you could imagine. I don’t think anybody is going to surprise him or throw him off-guard. But that still doesn’t mean that we are going to get much out of him.
The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. While they ultimately traded George Pickens, they have other decisions to make. The 2025 NFL Draft class is now behind us, so most of the roster construction is complete.
But we still have a long offseason ahead for Steelers football, or football in shorts. At least we can finally put the Aaron Rodgers situation to bed, and move on to other things. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go.
