Aaron Rodgers
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Fox Sports media personality Nick Wright absolutely tore into quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his approach to the Pittsburgh Steelers during 2026 NFL free agency.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are patiently waiting for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to make a decision about the 2026 NFL season. But a lot of pundits have run out of patience.
Count Fox Sports personality Nick Wright among them.
On Friday, Wright tore into Rodgers for his approach to NFL free agency this spring. For the second offseason in a row, the quarterback hasn’t signed with a new team through at least the first two weeks of free agency.
“I am offended on the Steelers’ behalf that Rodgers is just such a delicate snowflake that he can’t make his decision yet,” Wright said Friday on FS1’s ‘First Things First,’ via Steelers Now’s Brendan Howe. “It is inexplicable, bordering on indefensible why Aaron Rodgers is not on the Steelers yet, if, assuming, the Steelers want him, which it appears they do.
Wright continued: “[It was] nonsense that he pedaled to McAfee that I tried to be nice the day of it, then I was like, ‘Nick, just be honest with the audience.’
“This is all kayfabe. This is wrestling at this point, and, for some reason, he needs to be special. He can’t sign in the regular wave of free agency, he can’t just be a part of the regular timeline of a season. And this is four years of this now.”
Last year, Rodgers finally signed with the Steelers on June 5. He missed most of the offseason workouts, but Rodgers joined the club for mandatory minicamp.
NFL insiders suggested early this offseason Rodgers would not have his free agency linger like last year. However, through March 21, that’s been the case.
Nick Wright Rips Aaron Rodgers for Making Steelers Wait
Wright has the reputation of delivering harsh hot takes in an angry tone to try and grab headlines. He likely achieved that with his scorching opinion of Rodgers on Friday.
“He’s not conflicted on whether or not he’s playing football. He’s not conflicted on where he’s playing football,” Wright added. “So the fact that he is making a — call it — $12 billion organization wait and pretend like, ‘No, if we have to go into the year with … Will Howard as quarterback, we’re prepared to.’ No, you’re not. Because you know who’s playing quarterback for you, but for some reason he won’t sign up for it.”
Wright’s words were the biggest criticism of Rodgers’s approach to this offseason. But Wright is hardly alone in sharing this opinion.
Multiple NFL Network personalities have stated similar opinions. Steelers legendary cornerback Rod Woodson was critical of the quarterback’s delayed decision this past week.
“Listen, if he’s going to play, say he’s going to play, he’s going to come back. The team shouldn’t wait for Aaron Rodgers. They need to move forward,” said Woodson.
Rodgers Decision Coming in ‘A Few Weeks’?
Through March 21, insiders have been off about when Rodgers might sign. That includes both Steelers beat reporters (Mark Kaboly) and league-wide insiders (Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport).
It’s impossible to know if any new update could be more accurate. But NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported on March 15 that Rodgers’s decision on 2026 is “expected in weeks.”
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter when Rodgers signs, as long as he does eventually sign. It’s a much bigger problem, though, if he elects not to sign.
Should that happen, and Rodgers’s final decision not to play comes late in the spring, the Steelers will have lost the opportunity to add a lot of other different quarterbacks.