The Pittsburgh Steelers entered this offseason intent on re-signing Aaron Rodgers, and they didn’t expect their pursuit of the veteran quarterback to take as long as it did last year. However, that hasn’t been the case. While Rodgers could still technically sign earlier than he did last year, it wouldn’t be by much. For the second year in a row, the Steelers have waited patiently to hear from Rodgers, all while the rest of the league continues moving. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor thinks that’s a bad look for Pittsburgh.
“The Steelers were a little bit foolish when Omar Khan comes out and says in February, ‘This is not going to go like it did last year,'” Pryor said recently on The Bill Barnwell Show. “And when we asked why, he was like, ‘Because neither side wants it to go like it went last year.’ That, I think, was wishful thinking.
“I can understand from their perspective why they would think it wouldn’t because he wouldn’t necessarily have the same off-field stuff that he was dealing with. Yes, Aaron Rodgers is taking forever, but the Steelers win most gullible offseason award.”
Not only did Khan state that he expected things to go differently with Rodgers this year, but Art Rooney II has continued to set soft deadlines for when the Steelers expect the quarterback to make a decision. None of that has helped the Steelers’ situation.
Had the Steelers avoided all of that, perhaps this offseason’s wait for Rodgers wouldn’t be as bad. Pittsburgh has done this song and dance before, and it ended with Rodgers joining the team. It felt likely that things would be similar this year, mainly because Rodgers has long made it clear that he doesn’t care for the NFL’s offseason programs.
Instead, fans were told that Rodgers would sign soon after the 2025 season ended. Then, it got pushed back to the start of free agency. That came and went, and there was still no word. Rooney was confident Rodgers would join the Steelers by the draft, but that was wrong, too.
Now, May is basically halfway over. While Rodgers was reportedly in Pittsburgh recently, he didn’t meet with the Steelers. It seemed like a resolution was close, but it’s foolish to try to predict what Rodgers is going to do.
The Steelers deserve some of the blame for the circus this has become. There’s no guarantee that Rodgers will sign with them, either. If he retires, then Pittsburgh’s going to have a lot of questions to answer.
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