Just five days since the start of the legal tampering period that essentially serves as the beginning of the new NFL year, 29 of the 32 teams pretty much know what they’re doing in 2025 at the most important position in football: quarterback. Some of those 29 don’t have a starter, but a QB competition has been set up to determine the best fit for the upcoming season. And then you have those three stragglers. Aside from Aaron Rodgers, they do not have much to choose from.
Advertisement
They are the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns, to their credit, have shown absolutely no interest in signing Rodgers. However, both the Giants and Steelers have been in hot pursuit of the 41-year-old.
The Steelers recently signed Mason Rudolph to a two-year, $8 million deal, and the Giants have the No. 3 overall pick, so both now have fall-back options. Russell Wilson is still out there, too. But at this point, Rodgers is the favored option for both teams. One of the league’s most well-informed insiders, Tom Pelissero, broke down the four-time MVP’s remaining options.
“Aaron Rodgers has decisions to make… At this point, the two options that Aaron Rodgers has… are the Steelers and the Giants. The Steelers have made clear that that’s their priority at this point. That they are willing to wait this thing out while also making contingency plans like re-signing Mason Rudolph yesterday.”
View this post on Instagram
Pittsburgh would seem to be the most likely landing spot for Rodgers. It’s a stable and storied franchise. They’ve got enough horses to reasonably expect to make some noise in the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Besides, the Steelers have a pair of wideouts that the rest of the league would struggle to match.
However, Rodgers is still keeping the Giants on the hook for some reason. “The Giants also are under the impression that they still have an opportunity here and then obviously you have the other options,” he added.
“One being you either wait or walk away altogether. And simply say I’m not gonna sign anywhere right now and kind of let the rest of these chips fall, see how you’re feeling through the course of the spring and the summer. See what opportunities might arise between now and then.”
Apart from the Steelers and Giants, there is one other dark horse: the Minnesota Vikings. They are a better team than either of them, giving him a much better chance at a deep playoff run. They also have a rookie QB coming off a season-ending injury in J.J. McCarthy, so another healthy year waiting in the wings might not hurt.
Then there’s the whole Brett Favre comparison, as Rodgers could replicate his mentor’s Green Bay to New York Jets to Minnesota career trajectory. “I know the comparisons are constant but it’s not unlike what was going on with Brett Favre toward the end of his career…” he started.
“You’ve got the long shot things like Minnesota that I would not say at this point, I cannot definitively tell you they’re out, but I would also not say they’re in. And the idea that they’re negotiating with Aaron Rodgers or actively trying to bring him in is overstated, let’s put it that way.”
While the Vikings are still a long shot, Pelissero did note something interesting. When Favre signed for the Vikings, he didn’t do so until August 18, midway through the preseason. Rodgers could certainly continue contemplating in that vein for some more time.
Many have also suggested that he should wait until the August window to see if any major quarterbacks on a contending team go down with injuries. It would give him the perfect opportunity to step in with serious plans for a Super Bowl in 2025.
