The Pittsburgh Steelers have no doubt put themselves in a tough spot while playing the Aaron Rodgers waiting game this offseason.
The Steelers did not retain either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, and so far they have replaced those two with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, neither of whom are starting-caliber quarterbacks.
The free-agent options for Pittsburgh were never great to begin with, but that group has dwindled considerably. The trade market doesn’t offer much, either, unless the Steelers are keen on trading draft capital for Kirk Cousins off a horrible year.
Then, there’s the NFL draft, where the Steelers hold the No. 21 overall pick and may take one of Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart. The problem with that is the Steelers are looking to win right now and neither one of those quarterbacks are guaranteed to be able to answer the bell in Year 1, if ever.
While it doesn’t appear that Rodgers has any suitors left outside of the Steelers, that doesn’t mean he’s a lock to go there. Another option for Rodgers, as he revealed in his interview with Pat McAfee, is retirement.
“I’m open to anything and attached to nothing. Retirement could still be a possibility, but right now my focus has been — and will continue to be — on my personal life. And that’s what I’ve told the coaches. There’s still conversations that are being had. It’s all been very honest lines of communication,” Rodgers told McAfee.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
While Rodgers did not explicitly say he’s retiring, former NFL general manager and current ESN analyst Mike Tannenbaum believes the veteran quarterback is going to do just that.
“The other day, Aaron Rodgers goes on Pat McAfee, and understandably so, deservedly so, he basically old us he was retired and here’s why: when you have an NFL starting quarterback, you need somebody who’s prepared to withstand the rigors of a 17-game regular season,” Tannenbaum said. “Something he did with the Jets offseason program two years ago. The Steelers started their program. He is not there. He’s gonna be 42 in December.”
Tannenbaum then goes on to say that the Steelers should move on from Rodgers and draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.
“If he was our starting quarterback, he should be all in,” Tannenbaum said. “Coach Mike Tomlin, what did he say? ‘I want volunteers, not hostages.’ We have to move on. We have to go get a quarterback Thursday night.”
The Rodgers situation should be irrelevant when it comes to the Steelers taking a quarterback in the first round of the draft.
Rodgers is going to be 42 years old and chances are he’ll be a one- or two-year solution, at most. Pittsburgh needs to plan accordingly and shouldn’t hold back from doing what it takes to draft a signal-caller, whether that be Sanders or Dart.
Read the full article here
