Recent reports indicate that the Aaron Rodgers saga is starting to progress, if only slightly. It sounds like the Minnesota Vikings have decided they won’t pursue Rodgers. That leaves him to pick between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants. Analyst Dan Patrick believes the Steelers should no longer wait on Rodgers.
“You’re the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Patrick said Wednesday on his show. “Don’t lower yourself. ‘Oh Aaron, could you please come here?’ Move on. You should’ve kept Justin Fields. At least that gave you a bridge quarterback for the next two years. Maybe he develops into something.
“Now what do you have? Mason Rudolph? Okay. Are you gonna bring Russ [Wilson] back, if it’s true that Russ and Arthur Smith didn’t get along at the end of the season, or maybe they didn’t see eye to eye. But you’re the Steelers.”
Patrick makes a good point. The Steelers are one of the NFL’s most storied franchises. They haven’t had a losing season since 2003. They’ve won six Super Bowls. Now, it feels like they’re at Rodgers’ mercy. The offseason is still moving along, with or without a decision from Rodgers. The Steelers have other weaknesses that they need to address and doing that without a starting quarterback might be tough.
Patrick is correct that they’re running out of options under center, too. They brought Rudolph back, but he’s better suited to be a backup. The other starters available aren’t really needle movers.
The Steelers could re-sign Wilson, but like Patrick says, there are reports that people in the organization want to move on from him. After that, the next best quarterbacks on the market are Jameis Winston and Joe Flacco. It’s tough to see either of them raising the Steelers’ floor or ceiling.
They could always trade for Kirk Cousins, but that’s easier said than done. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t get a deal done with Fields. He was reportedly their No. 1 target, but several factors led to him signing with the New York Jets.
That leaves the Steelers waiting for Rodgers, and it’s unclear when he’ll make a decision. He could always choose to sign with the Giants or even retire. That would mean the Steelers did all this waiting for nothing.
Rodgers can do whatever he wants with his life. He has the right to take as long as he wants to decide on his future. However, the Steelers can also choose to not be involved in that process. He might be the best option left, but he’s not the same player he once was. It’s unlikely that he’ll make the Steelers a Super Bowl contender.
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