Aaron Rodgers continues to stroll along the beach, wrapped in a towel, pondering his future and his life both on and off the field. Well, that’s what we’re guessing, at least. We haven’t heard a peep from the QB in quite some time as he continues to wrestle with his NFL mortality.
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Rodgers has said publicly that he doesn’t want to hold anyone hostage by taking so long to brood over the matter. That’s a nice sentiment, and we’re sure he’s genuine in saying that’s not his intention. But like it or not, that’s exactly what’s happened — at least with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They didn’t draft a QB until the sixth round, and the only others on the roster are Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.
That definitely seems like a team that’s still waiting on a decision from Rodgers. And perhaps some, if not most, of the blame should really go to the Steelers’ brass.
Mike Tomlin and Co. clearly whiffed on all their other plans, leaving themselves at Rodgers’ mercy. The fact that they didn’t take a flyer on Shedeur Sanders so late in the draft is another strong indicator they expect Rodgers to join.
Albert Breer recently broke down the latest in the Steel City.
“You look at Pittsburgh; I think [that’s] just sort of in that holding pattern waiting for Aaron Rodgers. We heard what Art Rooney said over the weekend, that he’s confident that they’ll wind up landing him,” said Breer.
Breer went on to explain how Rodgers’ delayed decision not only affects the Steelers but also a couple of other veteran QBs in precarious positions.
The NFL insider argued that “a lot hinges on Aaron Rodgers” when it comes to the next move for Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.
“For Kirk, you’re sort of in this—I mean you’re waiting for someone to get hurt. I think the Falcons have been willing to listen. There was some feel out there that Terry Fontenot was gonna to try to move him on Day 3 of the draft. But I’m not sure that the market was out there for him at this point. And you do wonder if the market has passed him by.”
We would tend to agree with Breer at this point. Unless there is an injury, the Falcons are likely going to cut Cousins. It doesn’t seem a trade is in the cards. Another QB affected by Rodgers’ landing spot could be the New Orleans Saints‘ Derek Carr. Breer says this situation is a lot more “complicated” than Kirk’s.
“There’s the shoulder issue, which the team feels like is a two-year-old issue. Does it have to be handled right now? I think that’s an open question. I don’t think Carr appreciated how some things were handled in March,” said the insider.
“The fact that they already converted all but the minimum from base salary into signing bonus money, which means that money is gone, they’ve already paid for Derek Carr for 2025, tells me it’s going to be really hard for anybody to get Derek Carr out of there.”
The most likely scenario, at this point, would seem to be the most straightforward in all three cases. Aaron Rodgers will eventually relent and join the Steelers. Cousins will either stay on as a backup in Atlanta or get cut and left to wait on the couch until someone gets injured and he gets a call. And the Saints are going to roll with Carr before presumably handing the reins over to 2025 third-round pick Tyler Shough.
