The Pittsburgh Steelers tried to avoid a repeat of last offseason’s Aaron Rodgers drama by setting soft deadlines for his decision. So far, he’s ignored them. And now, according to Gerry Dulac, the team’s patience may finally be wearing thin. Is this just more bark, or are the Steelers ready to bite?
Dulac expanded his thoughts on the matter during his weekly Steelers chat via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was asked what happens if Rodgers ignores this next deadline at the start of OTAs.
“Personally, if I had to guess, based on what I’ve seen, nothing,” Dulac wrote. “I know a lot of people would want to see that. They want the Steelers to stand up to him and say enough is enough, even though that is not their stance and I don’t expect that to happen.”
In other words, Dulac’s latest report is more bark. Absent bite, it’s meaningless. Unless you count the UFA tender placed on Rodgers as bite, but that doesn’t restrict him from signing elsewhere if he has suitors or simply retiring.
The reality is Rodgers serves no purpose at OTAs other than mentoring the young quarterbacks. But they’ll have their hands full with Mike McCarthy’s delve back into the basics of the position. There will be plenty of time for Rodgers’ guidance later. If anything, Rodgers’ presence may hinder their ability to put Drew Allar and Will Howard through the McCarthy bootcamp if they give him any reps. And if they don’t, then clearly he wasn’t needed in the first place.
According to Dulac, that doesn’t mean the Steelers don’t want Rodgers around. “They do,” he wrote.
Much like Mike Tomlin was the main decision maker beating the drum to hold a spot for Rodgers last year, McCarthy seems to be this year.
“The coach who once had him,” Dulac wrote, as the person inside the building most gung-ho on bringing him in.
Two things can be true. McCarthy can be excited about working with Howard and Allar while also wanting to maximize a talented roster that gives the Steelers a chance to compete this year. Aaron Rodgers can help accomplish both goals by giving them the best chance to win in 2026 and reprising the mentor role he embraced last year.
Art Rooney II and Omar Khan both laid out expectations that this year would be different in terms of waiting for Rodgers until early June. But their frustrations mean nothing without action, and they don’t appear poised to take any.
“It’s still more likely he’s coming back than not,” Dulac wrote.
Until the Steelers prove otherwise, their deadlines mean absolutely nothing. And Rodgers knows it.
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