Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers seems to be hurdling into a Pittsburgh Steelers marriage, and many in the NFL remain dubious of the 41-year-old.
The NFL offseason gets dangerously near to the NFL Draft, and the Pittsburgh Steelers still lack a clear-cut starting quarterback on their roster.
Then enter Aaron Rodgers, the often underappreciated 41-year-old four-time MVP winner who seemed eager to visit Pittsburgh. The team seems delighted to have him: The Steelers are “aggressively pursuing him,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted on Friday’s taping of “Sportcenter.”
Many in the NFL world are perplexed why a team riding a 21-season winning record would want a quarterback obviously in the twilight of his career, including seasoned Pittsburgh defensive lineman Cam Heyward. When talking about the quarterback on his “Not Just Football” podcast last week, the seven-time Pro Bowler did not quite open arms for Rodgers.
“I ain’t doing that darkness retreat,” Heyward remarked of the protracted decision-making process. “I have no need of such rubbish. You either don’t want to be a Steeler or you do. It’s basic. That’s the argument.
Rodgers visited the Steelers facility Friday but left without carrying a contract. Fowler described the whole scenario: “Pittsburgh has already got a contract offer standing out to Rodgers in place,” he stated.
So they discussed fit. He convened with GM Omar Khan, owner, Art Rooney, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and Mike Tomlin. Actually, I was informed the Steelers wanted to schedule this meeting so much they skipped Michigan’s pro day yesterday, which if you know the Steelers, is rather significant,” he said.
“Every major pro day sees the complete contingent present. They convened in town to see him. And look, I investigated further using a team source to find they are actively pursuing this. On their radar, he ranks highest.
When local CBS reporter Rickey Sayer brought the snacks to gauge fan sentiment on the 41-year-old quarterback, Pittsburgh supporters seemed not thrilled by the news.
“I spent 25 minutes Thursday chatting with Steelers fans in downtown Pittsburgh,” he said on X. “I could only locate one person hoping Aaron Rodgers would be a team player. One fan remarked, “Don’t want to see you in black and yellow, don’t want to see you in Pittsburgh.”
Others wrote on X. One tweeted: “horrible investment.” He won’t last three games; another said, “Steelers are cooked…I apologies; this is not the intended manner.”
The same is said by analysts. Popular X account @Steelers_DB (with more than 15,000 followers) penned “So… I saw Aaron Rodgers drop-backs from 2024. The good news is that the arm is still LIVE with actual flashes of the MVP-caliber athlete we are accustomed to. On film, however, some alarming patterns continued to show up.
Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh’s 2024 starts, either seem destined to move on (Wilson maybe to the competing Cleveland Browns) or have found other homes (Fields to the Jets).