Despite the 2025 NFL Draft officially being one week away, the Pittsburgh Steelers are seemingly no closer to getting a deal done with Aaron Rodgers. After months of negotiations, in addition to Rodgers working out with the team’s latest wide receiver addition, DK Metcalf, the AFC North’s perennial contenders are now being listed as a potential landing spot for Shedeur Sanders on draft day.
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Rodgers is taking his time while the Steelers are running out of it. During the latest panel discussion on ESPN’s Get Up, former Pittsburgh Steeler turned podcaster, Ryan Clark, implored his team to give Rodgers a hard deadline.
Clearly frustrated by the stagnant nature of the ongoing negotiations, Clark suggested that the process in and of itself has already been a blunder on Pittsburgh’s behalf.
“I feel like this has been mishandled already… What has Aaron Rodgers done in the last two years, or since leaving Green Bay, that says he should be afforded this type of time? …I think it’s been a bad play by the Pittsburgh Steelers already. I would give Aaron Rodgers a deadline… I would need to know are you coming back to play or not this week,” he said.
Despite there being an incredibly short list of teams that even view the former Packer as a legitimate option for the upcoming season, another former Steeler, Ben Roethlisberger, has made it clear that he believes Rodgers is potentially still holding out in hopes of landing a contract with the Minnesota Vikings.
In highlighting that Rodgers is subtly following the trends set forth by his predecessor in Brett Favre, the former face of Pittsburgh’s franchise recently suggested that:
“I think Aaron is still secretly holding out for Minnesota, which is why he hasn’t signed with the Steelers. Why else would you go throw with DK and be working out and put it out and blast it to everybody that I’m throwing to these guys, but you won’t sign? I just think he thinks Minnesota is a more complete, closer team to winning a Super Bowl.”
Considering that the status of Rodgers’ negotiations with the club has seemingly worsened throughout the past several weeks, there’s truly no telling as to what the future Hall of Famer will do next. There’s no guarantee that a prospect like Shedeur Sanders will fall to the Steelers at the 21st spot of the draft, and the team famously parted ways with Russell Wilson earlier this offseason.
Given the dwindling lack of options for both sides, perhaps it’s best that everyone swallow their pride and attempt to finalize a deal that would see Rodgers retire in the black and yellow. It’s not often that a team gets to use a future first-ballot Hall of Famer as a bridge quarterback; that opportunity alone could make the signing worthwhile for the Steelers.
Likewise, the Minnesota Vikings have invested a lot of time and draft capital into the likes of J.J. McCarthy, meaning that there is no guarantee that Rodgers’ former rivals would even be interested in employing his services. Unless the franchise is content with having their next signal caller ride the pine for an additional year, it’s unlikely that they will finalize any sort of contract with Rodgers.
Given the timing of the situation, in addition to the context of the contract talks, a Rodgers-Steelers union still seems inevitable at this time. When it’s all said and done, perhaps the curtain that falls on the career of Rodgers will be made of steel.
