According to ESPN insider Brooke Pryor, the Pittsburgh Steelers believe it ‘doesn’t matter’ when Aaron Rodgers signs. The Steelers have waited on Rodgers for two months, and could wait longer.
Yet, with OTAs starting Tuesday, the Steelers would like to have him there. Team president Art Rooney II said as much during the NFL Draft, yet sources are still communicating to Pryor there is no reason for the team to panic anytime soon.
“I’ve talked with several Steelers sources this morning, and they said it’s status quo. They continue to remain in communication with Aaron Rodger,s and they’re still optimistic they ultimately end up landing him,” Pryor said. “There is no firm deadline on when he could report or sign with the Steelers. And the Steelers are comfortable with that because they believe he is a plug-and-play player where it doesn’t matter when he shows up. You put him in the lineup and he’s good to go.”
Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show in April that he is dealing with personal issues that he has to clear up before he is willing to commit to a team.
However, his biographer, Ian O’Connor, believes that Rodgers will ink a deal sooner rather than later.
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. If he has something similar this year, he might not want to ink his deal until after the spring calendar.
If he has not signed by mandatory minicamp, things are much murkier for the Steelers. Certainly, the team seemingly would wait until training camp for him, but they would have to explore other options if they could not land Rodgers.