It seems the Pittsburgh Steelers will finally have some resolve with their uneasy and dramatic quarterback vacancy. Aaron Rodgers gave the Steelers the runaround, but according to Rodgers’ biographer, he’s anticipating Rodgers to be in Pittsburgh by the end of the month.
Rodgers' biographer, Ian O'Connor, recently appeared on 93.7 The Fan and, during the live stream (h/t Steelers Now), he revealed the timeline he's hearing for the mercurical quarterback.
"Talking to a couple of people close to Aaron, I have a sense of what it might be. I’m not comfortable reporting it right now, but I don’t think it would prevent him from playing football with the Steelers… I just think verbally, behind the scenes, not that he guaranteed it, but he’s told (the Steelers), ‘Listen I’m gonna play for you. I just don’t want to go there and then miss part of mandatory minicamp because of my personal issues. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be solved by the end of May, at least in my satisfaction where I can give you my all.’ I think that’s where he is."
If you’re the Steelers, that’s good news as it avoids another season of watching Mason Rudolph lead this offense. It’s also good news that Rodgers is projected to actually sign with Pittsburgh rather than call it a career.
Rodgers obviously felt some type of way about how things ended in New York and this would be the perfect way to rub it in the Jets’ face that they made a mistake. Through a miserable two seasons in East Rutherford that featured a ruptured Achilles tendon, Rodgers still might have enough left to prove his doubters and former team wrong.
Aaron Rodgers insider shows why Steelers were never worried
I guess it all makes sense now why the Steelers weren’t in panic about their quarterback situation. They’ve probably felt as confident as anybody that Rodgers would be suiting up in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have waited patiently, letting Rodgers take his time.
They haven’t nudged him or scrambled to improve their room while waiting for his decision. We should have seen this all along. But the Steelers signing Rodgers is one thing, but which version of him are they getting?
The Steelers need the version of Rodgers that can do just enough to be a carbon copy of Russell Wilson last year, at worst. They obviously would want to avoid how the season ended with five-straight losses and another postseason loss. But they don’t need Rodgers to be a superhero.
When he was in New York, he was put into a position to save that franchise from years of regular-season frustration and playoff droughts. In Pittsburgh, he’s the missing piece. And what I mean by that, the Steelers have had a revolving door of quarterbacks every year since Ben Roethlisberger retired. They’ve essentially been a quarterback away that entire time.
Now it appears they’ll have their next replacement sooner rather than later. Patience really is a virtue and if Rodgers truly does sign with the Steelers, it can finally put to rest what always felt like the inevitable.