The Pittsburgh Steelers have continued to wait for Aaron Rodgers over the last two months. The quarterback said on that Pat McAfee Show in April he was dealing with a personal issue he wanted to resolve before signing with any team.
A biographer, Ian O’Connor, who has chronicled Rodgers’ life at length, says that he believes Rodgers’ personal issue will not prevent him from playing football, and he anticipates it being taken care of by the end of March.
“Talking to a couple of people close to Aaron, I have a sense of what it might be,” O’Connor said on 93.7 the Fan. “I’m not comfortable reporting it right now, but I don’t think it would prevent him from playing football with the Steelers... I just think verbally, behind the scenes, not that he guaranteed it, but he’s told (the Steelers), ‘Listen I’m gonna play for you. I just don’t want to go there and then miss part of mandatory minicamp because of my personal issues. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be solved by the end of May, at least in my satisfaction where I can give you my all.’ I think that’s where he is.”
O’Connor notes that Rodgers was irked he took heat last year for missing mandatory minicamp with the New York Jets for a pre-planned trip to Egypt. He might not want to ink his deal until after the spring calendar if he has something similar this year.
Either way, he is convinced Rodgers will eventually sign with the Steelers, as most people are at this point in the process. The Steelers’ moves have shown confidence in landing Rodgers, too, and so that seems to be the likely endpoint.