PITTSBURGH --Pittsburgh Steelers star defensive lineman Cam Heyward says there is no need for him to recruit free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers as they wait.
"There’s no need to recruit. It’s been more black and white up front... You roll with who’s here. It’s not guessing. You gotta get to work you put in. You can’t worry about who’s not here. Same way goes if I was to miss practice. Train keeps going. We’ll see what happens. You really just can’t worry about what’s going on outside of here. That’s the way the Steelers have always run the ship," Heyward said.
On the Pat McAfee Show in April, Rodgers said he would not sign a deal with a team until he felt he could fully commit to them with his personal life in order. Heyward said he did not necessarily feel Rodgers had to be there.
Heyward himself skipped OTAs last year and never felt a difference during the season.
“I think sometimes we put so much stock into the offseason where we can get caught up into thinking it’s everything. Yes, it can help. Yes, guys can get better. But, who’s to say you can’t get better outside of here. I hate to point to it, but last year I missed all of OTAs. So, it didn’t really help me,“ Heyward said.
In his latest interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Rodgers may have just revealed and hinted at the issues he hopes to resolve in his personal life.
Rodgers said multiple people in his life are dealing with serious illnesses, including cancer.
“I’ve figured it out during the last year when I’ve been in the weeds with these people who are close to me that have cancer,” Rodgers said.
That is taking a personal toll on Rodgers, who discussed non-conventional treatment options on the podcast. Still, he offered no certain timetable for a decision and seemed focused on his personal life first before anything else.
Either way, Rodgers was the talk of the first OTAs session, and he has still yet to sign a deal.