The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves playing the Aaron Rodgers waiting game for the second offseason in a row. They had to wait until June last year to get a decision from him. The Steelers don’t seem to believe they’ll have to wait that long again, with Art Rooney II recently saying that he expects an answer from Rodgers by the draft. However, former Steelers corner Joe Haden doubts that’s an actual deadline.
“A-Rod is on some, ‘I’m chilling,'” Haden said Tuesday on his Deebo and Joe podcast. “‘I don’t have to tell y’all what I want to do. I’m A-Rod. If I don’t want to come back, I won’t come back. You’re not forcing me to tell you what I want to do. Why, because you want to know? Because you want to move on? Do what you want to do…
“You can expect an answer as much as you want, but that’s A-Rod. We know how he moves. He’s got $400 [million]. He could chill,” Haden added. “He don’t gotta answer you. There’s no timeline in his head. There’s timelines in teams’ heads because you’ve got OTAs. But if you’re him, I could be chilling as long as I want. I don’t have to say nothing.”
Haden makes a fair point. Rodgers doesn’t have to give the Steelers an answer. In fact, when Mike Tomlin stepped down, it seemed like Rodgers was heading for retirement. He’s 42 years old, and he’s already punched his ticket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. He doesn’t need to come back.
However, if he has any desire left to play, especially as a starter, then the Steelers might be his only option. The rest of the league is basically set at quarterback. The Steelers are the biggest question mark left. They have no starter in place currently.
The reverse is true, too. The Steelers want to compete for a championship this season, and at this point, the starting quarterback market has dried up. The Steelers need Rodgers just as much as he needs them. Will Howard and Mason Rudolph are the only other two quarterbacks on the roster currently, and the Steelers would be hard pressed to make the playoffs with either of them, let alone get to the Super Bowl.
It’s a staring contest, and whoever blinks first loses. Rooney might want an answer by the draft, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to get one. Earlier reports indicated that the Steelers expected an answer from Rodgers by mid-March. That didn’t happen. What’s keeping the same thing from happening again with Rooney’s current expectation?
Mike McCarthy said he’s had regular communication with Rodgers. That makes it seem like the quarterback is seriously considering a return. However, nothing is guaranteed with Rodgers. The Steelers were on his time last year, and their situation isn’t much different this year. If Rodgers wants to re-sign with the Steelers, he’ll do it when he wants to.
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