At this point, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Aaron Rodgers will eventually end the free agent waiting game and sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early in free agency, though, that wasn’t a given.
New reporting by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reveals that Rodgers was pretty darn close to signing with the Giants.
“There was a point during the multiweek dalliance that it seemed like it might happen,” Raanan wrote. “Rodgers had a one-on-one conversation with (head coach Brian) Daboll to explore if it made sense on a football level, a source with knowledge of the conversation confirmed.”
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The Giants eventually chose to go in a different direction.
“A free agent for the first time in his career, Rodgers had the Giants and several others playing a waiting game,” Raanan wrote. “The Pittsburgh Steelers are still in that position almost two months later. But eventually the Giants pivoted. The top available options were (Russell) Wilson, (Jameis) Winston and Joe Flacco.”
New York wound up signing both Wilson and Winston as well as drafting Jaxson Dart in the first round.
Flacco went to the Browns.
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The Steelers are really the last team standing, and seemingly the only one who wants Rodgers.
The future Hall of Famer has waited around for a while, but it seems like Pittsburgh or retirement at this point after it wasn’t very far off from being a different outcome.
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