The Pittsburgh Steelers will enter the third week of their quest to sign Aaron Rodgers on Monday, but after a visit to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Friday, things appear to be getting closer.
However, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio believes Rodgers and his agent are trying to drag out the process to get better offers.
"Rodgers’s agent, David Dunn, has been encouraging Rodgers to be patient. Patience can become leverage. Leverage can improve offers,” Florio writes.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the Steelers have put out an offer to Rodgers and that has not changed in weeks. The parameters of a deal already seem to be in place, it is simply up to Rodgers to sign the deal or decide to head somewhere else, like the New York Giants, or retire from the NFL.
Rodgers met with head coach Mike Tomlin, general manager Omar Khan, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. However, he left without a deal, but the team and Rodgers never talked about money on the visit.
The Giants signed quarterback Jameis Winston on Friday night to a two-year deal. Despite initial speculation that could pull the Giants out of the Rodgers sweepstakes, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported the Giants remain very in on Rodgers. Rodgers has yet to visit East Rutherford, but with no rush to make his decision, could choose to do that next week.
The Steelers' visit with Rodgers went well and both sides came out of thinking positively about each other, Schefter reported. Earlier this week, the Steelers and Rodgers opened a line of communication with one another after things had largely been silent the week prior, and it seems Rodgers is nearing a decision.
Either way, Rodgers has drawn out the process for a few weeks as he mulls what he will do in the next step of his career. The soft deadline would be April 21st, which is when the Giants and Steelers start their offseason programs.
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