“They Tried to Get Matthew Stafford”: Insider Gets Honest on Steelers’ Long Wait for Aaron Rodgers

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary streak of winning seasons is in serious jeopardy. Under head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have never finished a campaign with a losing record. But as they prepare to move forward with Mason Rudolph, that could change in short order.

At this stage of the offseason, there’s one free agent quarterback who may be able to keep the streak alive: Aaron Rodgers. Pittsburgh has been courting him for months, but the 41-year-old has yet to join the roster. This apparent indecision from Rodgers has opened the Steelers’ front office up to criticism for not adequately addressing the QB position sooner, but not everyone feels that way.

On Tuesday’s episode of The Rich Eisen Show, former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker spoke on Pittsburgh’s efforts to land a new signal-caller. He recapped the players the Steelers pursued, but ultimately didn’t land, before reaching their current predicament. Tucker believes those attempts have impacted Rodgers’ desire to put pen to paper.

“They tried to get Matthew Stafford… then they tried to keep [Justin] Fields, then they tried to get [Sam] Darnold… it [has] got to be really humbling… it would be humbling for me. And I think it’s one of the reasons… that he’s still waiting to sign with them,” Tucker said.

Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer, gets to enjoy perks and luxuries that other players simply aren’t privy to. One of them is enjoying his offseason on his own terms. He, for better or worse, doesn’t let anyone dictate how he spends his time. To Tucker, though, his actions are hindering Pittsburgh’s playoff chances.

“As a seven-year journeyman… I’m jealous that he can just sign whenever he wants to and skip the whole offseason program. That actually sounds kind of cool. On the other hand… it’s not a really good argument for him, this year, to suggest – at any point – that he really cares about winning [or how] this season goes… they could have worked out [kinks] in May or June, when he wasn’t there,” Tucker added.

The Steelers can regroup early in the 2025 campaign (if necessary) courtesy of their Week 5 bye. But there’s a chance they get off to a hot start. Three of their first four opponents – the New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings – have new quarterbacks. The fourth, the New England Patriots, have Drake Maye, a talented but not fully developed second-year pro.

After the bye, Pittsburgh hosts the Cleveland Browns. If the defense does its thing and Rodgers does come to town, the Steelers have a real shot at taking a 5-0 record into their Week 7 Thursday Night Football showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. And if they do, the waiting game Tomlin and Co. are currently playing will have paid off.