Easy as it is to fault Aaron Rodgers for the most insufferable soap opera in NFL history, the Pittsburgh Steelers deserve equal billing in the latest episode.
Rodgers is never going to act in someone else’s best interest, and he’s always going to find a way to stay in the spotlight. This offseason is no different. Having already left the Steelers in limbo during free agency over his intentions to either play in 2026 or retire, he seems set to do it again for this week’s NFL draft.
No big deal. It’s just the most important position on Pittsburgh’s roster, and every personnel move the Steelers make or, in this case don’t make, is amplified because they’re hosting this year’s draft.
It’s vintage Rodgers, as predictable as it is tiresome.
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But the Steelers are not helpless here. They could have called Rodgers’ bluff weeks ago and given him a deadline. They could have pursued Kirk Cousins or Kyler Murray in free agency. Heck, they could have set the tone with Rodgers by showing some backbone last season, when he hemmed and hawed for months until finally signing a contract in June.
Instead, they’re letting Rodgers do what he does. Control the narrative regardless of the impact on anyone else.
“I think a decision is coming soon,” Steelers owner Art Rooney II told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor at the NFL’s annual meeting last month. “I would say by the draft I would expect an answer."
Yet here we are.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks on after being sacked during the first half of the NFL Wild Card game on Jan. 12 against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
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It is, of course, Rodgers’ prerogative to take the time he needs to make his decision. Sit with his feelings, have his chakras read, whatever it is he does that gives him clarity. Or maybe, similar to last year, he and the Steelers have an understanding and he’ll re-sign when those annoying offseason workouts are over.
That wouldn’t be a surprise, given Rodgers' history with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was Rodgers’ first NFL coach, and the two won a Super Bowl together in Green Bay.
“I have not talked to (Rodgers),” Rooney said at the annual meeting. “(McCarthy) has been in contact with him pretty regularly."
But nothing is ever done until it’s actually done, and we’re not talking about the backup kicker here.
If Rodgers doesn’t re-up, Pittsburgh’s choices are to hope Will Howard turns out to be as good as a certain other sixth-round QB from a Big Ten school or hope Mason Rudolph turns out to be more than a career backup.
Not great options, either one of them.
Aaron Rodgers' best days are behind him
And say Rodgers does decide he wants to play this season. Apologies to Steelers fans, but he’s not going to pull off a Tom Brady and take Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl.
Rodgers is still a better QB than many, and his mind and experience was enough to overcome his physical limitations last year and get the Steelers to the playoffs. Pittsburgh also could do worse than having Howard learn behind Rodgers for a second year.
But at 42, the four-time MVP’s best years are behind him. Rodgers doesn’t have the mobility that once made him so dangerous, and his stats last year were good, not great. His last throw in Pittsburgh’s loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card game was an interception.
Even if Rodgers takes the Steelers to the playoffs again, then what? Another offseason of “will he or won’t he”? Another season of kicking the proverbial can down the road?
At best, Rodgers is a Band-Aid. Just as Russell Wilson was intended to be.
The Steelers should have done what Rodgers’ old team did: Draft their franchise QB’s replacement while they still had him. But they didn’t do that. So here they sit, willing hostages to the whims of an aging quarterback.
It's a circus, and the Steelers were happy to pay the admission.
