The long wait for the Pittsburgh Steelers has finally come to an end, with Aaron Rodgers officially signed and making his first appearance at practice.
Rodgers joined his new teammates at the team's minicamp on Tuesday, appearing in the black and gold for the first time. Though Rodgers met with the team's brass early in the offseason and many insiders predicted he would land in Pittsburgh, he waited until just before the start of mandatory practices to make his signing official.
The team took to social media to give a glimpse of Rodgers at his first practice, sharing a post with just an image of a black eight-ball to show off the future Hall of Famer's jersey number.
Despite the delay in his signing, Rodgers said he felt in his "soul" that Pittsburgh was the right destination for him.
“A lot of decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling,” Rodgers told reporters on Tuesday. “But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So this was a decision that was best for my soul.”
Rodgers is looking to move beyond two uneven seasons with the New York Jets, which started with a season-ending torn Achilles on his first drive of the 2023 NFL season. Rodgers returned to the field in 2024 and had a strong season individually, but the team struggled and fell out of playoff contention early.