Though they still find themselves in the waiting game for the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, there’s starting to be some movement in the QB market for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rodgers visited the Steelers Friday afternoon and reportedly spent six hours in the Steel City, meeting with the likes of owner and team president Art Rooney II, GM Omar Khan, head coach Mike Tomlin, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. This led to the Steelers largely skipping the Michigan Wolverines’ Pro Day.
While defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was at the Michigan Pro Day, it was a big deal that guys like Tomlin and Khan weren’t there. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler during a hit on SportsCenter Saturday morning, the Steelers’ contingent skipped the Pro Day to ensure they could meet with Rodgers, who they are reportedly pursuing “aggressively.”
“He spent all day there, just more of a get-to-know exploratory session. They weren’t talking hard numbers. They’ve already got a contract offer standing out to Rodgers in place. So they talked about fit. He met with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Mike Tomlin, owner Art Rooney, and GM Omar Kahn. In fact, I was told the Steelers wanted to make this meeting happen so much they skipped Michigan’s Pro Day yesterday, which, if you know the Steelers, that’s a big deal,” Fowler said of the meeting with Rodgers, according to video via ESPN. “The whole contingent goes to every big Pro Day, so they stood in town to meet with him.
“And look, I checked with the team source that said they’re aggressively pursuing this. He’s number one on their radar. Russell Wilson, not totally off the list, but they would like to try to make this happen.”
It is noteworthy that the Steelers under Tomlin missed the Michigan Pro Day. Every year, Ann Arbor is an important stop on the Pro Day circuit for Tomlin. This year, especially, was a big year to be there, with defensive lineman Kenneth Grant a key target for the Steelers in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
That said, they can still bring Grant in for a pre-draft visit after they have already had a formal meeting with him at the NFL Scouting Combine. Plus, cornerback Will Johnson — another potential first-round pick for the Steelers — wasn’t working out and won’t do anything until April, so knowing that, it makes sense why the Steelers were seemingly comfortable missing the Pro Day to meet with Rodgers.
While the Steelers are willing to wait out Rodgers and his decision and feel comfortable in this situation, it was rather surprising that Rodgers was in Pittsburgh on Friday. It was also surprising to hear Fowler state that the Steelers, according to his team source, are aggressively pursuing the 41-year-old quarterback.
The offer to him still stands, and based on him coming to Pittsburgh to have exploratory talks and meet with key faces means that Rodgers is seriously considering the Steelers. Hopefully, things will trend further in that direction, and a decision will be made soon.
As for Wilson, all indications seem like the Steelers are moving on from him, but for Fowler, Wilson isn’t totally off the board for the Steelers. It seems very unlikely the Steelers want to return to Wilson, but they’re keeping the door slightly ajar just in case the situation with Rodgers goes awry.
Outside of still being on the board for the Steelers, Fowler reported Saturday morning that even after the signing of Jameis Winston, the Giants are still a viable option for Wilson, as are the Cleveland Browns.
“He’s still got a few. Not totally off Pittsburgh’s list; still in the mix with the Giants. He’s looked at the Giants as a viable option for a while now. And despite that Winston signing, my sense is the Giants have looked at signing two free-agent quarterbacks, and then they can still draft one. They’re really just starting from scratch on their quarterback room,” Fowler said regarding Wilson. “Cleveland still has interest in Russell Wilson. So, several options are still in the air for the former Pro Bowler. The key with a lot of these, with players’ pedigree and a little bit of age, you gotta work out a contract that’s sort of commensurate with their skill set.
“Sure, that could be an issue with some of these teams, but he’s gonna have options. He should have one of the seats in these musical chairs of quarterbacks.”
Hopefully, the music will stop soon and the seats will start to fill up so that teams can start to move forward at the most important position in sports.
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