Another day, another Aaron Rodgers blockbuster story ...
And the Pittsburgh Steelers are here for it.
The Steelers have high hopes for 2025, and are trying to pull out all the stops to make the upcoming campaign a successful one with a return to the playoffs.
Central to that?
Pittsburgh finally landed Aaron Rodgers after a 70-day gap between their initial meeting and the contract being signed.
And more recently? On Tuesday, the 41-year-old four-time NFL MVP announced his plan to retire after this "last dance'' season in The Steel City.
"What better place to finish,'' he said, "than in one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL with Mike Tomlin and a great group of leadership and great guys and a city that expects you to win?''
With a quarterback finally secured for the upcoming season, Steelers training camp is up and rolling at full strength.
And speaking of coach Tomlin ...
He is overseeing a move back to an old routine for camp.
The Steelers moved their training practices to the morning last year, but this year, are going back to afternoon practices this summer.
"It wasn't hot enough last year, to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said "Heat aids in the development of physical conditioning. It makes it a more stressful environment, and that's what we go to camp for. We go to camp to get better, and if it's a little bit more miserable later in the day, man, that's what we want."
"Miserable'' heat. And a daily "Aaron Rodgers Show'' at camp.
Sounds like fun.
Tomlin wants his team to be in the best condition they can be. The additional heat is going to make the squad sweat even more, increasing the intensity of practices.
So yes, Tomlin is embracing a "miserable" environment in camp.
After morning practices during the 2024 training camp, Pittsburgh got out to a 10-3 start before dropping their last four games of the season, ending 10-7. Pittsburgh's late season woes carried into the playoffs, where they lost to their AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens, 14-28.
Perhaps a more intense and heated training camp can allow the Steelers to be well-conditioned for the full season - and Rodgers' final season.