As May begins, the prospect of Aaron Rodgers donning the black and gold grows increasingly implausible. What once may have been a tantalizing what-if for Pittsburgh Steelers fans has deteriorated into an offseason sideshow, drawing ire from within and around the franchise.
Terry Bradshaw, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl titles, has become the latest voice to air frustration over Rodgers’ prolonged indecision. In a blistering critique, Bradshaw questioned both Rodgers' commitment and the logic behind courting him at all.
"That's a joke. That to me is just a joke," Bradshaw said. "What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there."
An Steelers offseason in limbo
This lack of urgency, masked as detachment, has rankled many within the organization. The way Rodgers has handled his free agency has been chaotic and grated on the nerves of many within the Steelers' orbit. It’s been months since Cameron Heyward expressed his frustrations with Rodgers.
“I ain’t doing that darkness retreat. I don’t need any of that crap. Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don’t,” Rodgers said back in March. “That’s simple, that’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit, that’s the recruiting pitch. Pittsburgh Steelers — if you want to be part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back.”
Leadership vacuum
The fact that Rodgers is still toying with the Steelers as we head into May has driven Terry Bradshaw up the wall. It’s asinine and it’s indicative of the circus atmosphere Rodgers has created around his personal and professional lives. In the last five years, he’s established a reputation for being one of the most selfish and smarmy athletes in all of professional sports.
His interactions have turned sour. His approach to the season has become even more bizarre and he’s become more isolated and egotistical. Say what you will about Russell Wilson’s diminished abilities, but he was all in on the Steelers from the moment he signed.
Bradshaw knows better than anyone how integral leadership and familiarity with an offense are to starting the season on a positive note. The team’s pursuit of the 40-year-old former MVP has stretched beyond a reasonable timetable. More importantly, Bradshaw’s comments speak to the degradation of the Steelers offense. The fact that their alternatives to Rodgers include 36-year-old Kirk Cousins, still recovering from a career-altering Achilles injury is telling.
Hopes were high for the Steelers this season and their offseason being a dud has dampened expectations and exacerbated old wounds. Bradshaw’s polemic is indicative of the fragile state of affairs within the Steeler organization and can’t be blamed on Rodgers, but his cavalier approach to the offseason illustrates how unserious he is.
Rodgers has become a symbol of indecision in Pittsburgh. And for a franchise historically defined by its clarity of purpose, that symbolism stings.
The Bradshaw-Rodgers divide may be just one chapter, but it encapsulates the crossroads at which Pittsburgh now stands.With training camp approaching and Rodgers still unsigned, the Steelers must choose a path between chasing the possibility of greatness tethered to Rodgers’ volatility, or reassert their identity by sticking with Mason Rudolph and building stability from within.