OTAs are rapidly approaching for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they are still living on a prayer when it comes to having their 2025 QB situation figured out with Aaron Rodgers. Those first practices serve as a natural deadline, but there haven’t been any public developments toward a decision.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave the latest on Rodgers Monday via Good Morning Football.
“It does seem like the Steelers are the choice, something they are confident in, something Art Rooney [II] has gone public in saying he believes will happen. The Steelers have held out hope it will happen,” Rapoport said. “They just have not gotten firm and final word from Rodgers that it is definitively his choice. No one knows for sure why that is.”
If you were in the camp of there being a handshake deal or certain assurances being made, it doesn’t sound like that is the case. There is still an element of faith involved in the situation on the Steelers’ end until pen is put to paper.
There are major reasons to believe why it will eventually happen, which is probably why there is a level of confidence in the Steelers’ building. Does a future Hall of Famer really want his final two seasons to be among the worst of his career? His legacy would be fine regardless, but players don’t get to this point without a high level of competitive drive. The Steelers offer a chance to go out on better terms with at least a playoff appearance.
The George Pickens trade was a curious chapter in the saga, with a chance of it making Pittsburgh a less attractive destination for Rodgers. But the Steelers did still trade for DK Metcalf, with whom Rodgers briefly trained at UCLA earlier in the offseason. And reports have indicated a constant line of communication between Rodgers and Mike Tomlin exists. If he has kept them in the loop, it’s reasonable to think they might also keep him in the loop.
The longer he waits, the higher the chance that an alternate option emerges with a potential injury during OTAs. The first major one already happened, but Rapoport stated the New Orleans Saints don’t sound like an option after Derek Carr medically retired.
Rooney doubled down on his confidence during the draft and said they could be getting word soon. He wouldn’t continually comment on a player who isn’t even under contract unless there was a degree of confidence.
May 27 is the beginning of the voluntary OTAs. If Rodgers is to be the Steelers’ quarterback, they really need to start installing the offense and building chemistry between the quarterback and the rest of the young offense.
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