The Pittsburgh Steelers’ long wait for Aaron Rodgers to decide continues into its second month, and with OTAs just a week away, the team needs an answer sooner rather than later.
Even still, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor says there is no firm deadline, and the Steelers are content to wait it out.
“I’ve talked with several Steelers sources this morning, and they said it’s status quo. They continue to remain in communication with Aaron Rodgers 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.”
Meanwhile, many have no idea why the Steelers have been pursuing Rodgers for so long. Kelvin Washington of the ‘Odd Couple’ on Fox Sports Radio says the Steelers look desperate courting the 41-year-old Rodgers and should have pivoted to other options much earlier.
“I’m blown away that an organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been one of the blue bloods, a historically well-run organization, would be this desperate for one in particular person who is 41 years old, best days behind him, who seems noncommital..they’re acting more like they’re not the Pittsburgh Steelers and more like the (Jaguars), or the Panthers, or the Raiders, making a desperate move. I’m not even knocking him, he played pretty well. But if you’re going off pretty well, Russell Wilson played pretty well and he’s four or five years younger. I genuinely have no idea what they’re doing," Washington said.
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.