Aaron Rodgers Dodging Signing With Steelers Just to Skip OTAs? NFL Fans Say the Delay Isn’t a Coincidence

Robert Gullo | 27/05/2025
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talk during warmups prior to the game at Lambeau Field.

It’s Memorial Day, and the waiting game for Aaron Rodgers to sign with a team continues. While the belief has mostly been, and still is, that Rodgers will probably sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he hasn’t. 

Tomorrow, the Steelers will hold their first of six OTA practices. And, barring an unexpected Memorial Day signing, Rodgers won’t be present with the team for the start of those sessions.

This is where the fans come in. Many, reacting to a post by ProFootballTalk about the Rodgers-Steelers situation, believe the QB is intentionally delaying his signing to avoid OTAs. He has always disliked the offseason curriculum, even if it sometimes got him in trouble. Case in point: last year, he skipped Jets minicamps to take a trip to Egypt.

“I feel like it’s obvious at this point he wants to be a Steeler but doesn’t want to participate in the off-season stuff. He’s complained about OTAs his whole career,” one user wrote.

Other fans backed Rodgers, noting that since he isn’t officially part of the team, he isn’t obligated to show up to OTAs. “If he’s not on the team, why would he be there?” they asked.

Many fans are still questioning why the Steelers are considering signing Rodgers. They believe the team should move on from pursuing the aging QB and focus on their current quarterback room featuring Mason Rudolph and Will Howard.

PFT founder Mike Florio found something quite intriguing amidst the chaos. He noted how Brett Favre in 2009 pulled off a similar move. After speculating about what he’d do for the 2009 season, the QB signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18 — that’s very late.

Some Vikings players wanted the team to go with the young quarterback Tavares Jackson, but as soon as Favre started throwing the ball and showed the team he still had it, they rallied behind him.

And as Florio pointed out, the same could happen with Rodgers in Pittsburgh. Fans may be growing tired of the wait, but if he signs and performs at a high level week after week, he could quickly win everyone over. The key will be for him to play like vintage Aaron Rodgers.

Post Edited By: Samnur Reza
Aaron Rodgers OTAs Pittsburgh Steelers

About the author

Robert Gullio

Robert Gullo

Rob is an NFL Journalist for The SportsRush. He was a University of Central Connecticut State University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in sports journalism. Rob has followed football ever since he was old enough to understand the game and is a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. Rob has written over 4,000 NFL articles and has interviewed many athletes in his career such as: Tyreek Hill, Will Levis, Byron Jones, Adam Thielen, Isiah Pacheco, Caitlin Clark, and many other professional athletes. Outside of The SportsRush, Rob is involved with other sports at the high school and college level, serving as the reporter/editor of the New Britain Herald newspaper in New Britain, Connecticut. Outside of sports, Rob likes to hike, travel, work out, remain active, and hang out with friends.

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