Aaron Rodgers is the last major NFL free agent who has not signed yet, and all signs point to him being nowhere near making his decision. Rodgers has taken a ton of criticism for taking so long to make what feels like a very obvious decision of signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but his former Green Bay Packers teammate, James Jones, believes it's not all on him.
When asked whether an ultimatum of some sort from Pittsburgh's end could potentially help speed this process up, Jones went in on why that wouldn't work at all.
"It's too late—you already showed Aaron Rodgers, 'we are waiting on you.' We told all these quarterbacks no. We told Russell Wilson no. We lost out on all these quarterbacks. So, the only option left to do—if you want to try to have a productive season—is to bring in Aaron Rodgers. You have to wait on him."
Steelers have no choice but to meet Aaron Rodgers' demands
As much as Steelers fans might not want to admit this, Jones is spot on. All of Pittsburgh's actions prove that the team has absolutely no leverage in their pursuit of the future Hall of Famer.
It felt as if their top target was Justin Fields, but he wound up signing with the New York Jets. Other potential targets, like Sam Darnold and even Matthew Stafford, are no longer available. With the Steelers holding the No. 21 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, a quarterback worth selecting is unlikely to fall in their laps.
With all of that in mind, who else is there? Are they really going to run it back with Russell Wilson? Are they going to sign Ryan Tannehill? Unless the Steelers want to throw their 2025 season away, they pretty much must pursue Rodgers.
Rodgers knows this, and therefore, is in no rush to sign for less than he believes he's worth. It's not as if Rodgers is flooded with leverage himself, especially after the New York Giants signed Jameis Winston, but he probably has more interest from teams that aren't Pittsburgh than the Steelers have interest in any quarterback that isn't Rodgers.
If the Steelers want this to be over anytime soon, they're going to have to realize that they're out of leverage. The longer they wait, the more likely it is that they're going to have to end up missing out on Rodgers and winding up with a quarterback that they obviously do not want.