Steelers Now
In a recent appearance on NBC Sports, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said he expects Aaron Rodgers to eventually sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. LaFleur, who coached Rodgers from 2019-2022, just can’t see Rodgers calling it a career.
“I’m anticipating that happening, so I won’t be surprised,” LaFleur said. “I just can’t see him not playing the game of football this year, and (signing with the Steelers) obviously makes the most sense. I just know in our discussions over the years, he’s a guy that he’s had as much respect for as anybody, a guy like Mike Tomlin. I could certainly see that coming to fruition here pretty shortly.”
The Steelers have been waiting on a decision from four-time league MVP for two months, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, it’s getting down the wire for Rodgers. He has to sign with Pittsburgh, or at least give the Steelers an answer on his plans in the coming weeks.
“I think the Steelers’ mandatory minicamp is next month, I forget the dates, but roughly June 10th,” Schefter said of Rodgers’ looming decision on Unsportsmanlike. “I think we should a decision from Aaron Rodgers shortly before then about whether or not he should play. To me, you can’t miss mandatory minicamp when you’re starting to gear up. I guess you can, but it’s not ideal.”
On Monday, NFL analyst Gregg Rosenthal appeared on The Ross Tucker Football Podcast, where Tucker openly criticized the Steelers’ handling of the situation.
“If for some reason he [Rodgers] chooses not to go there, that’s also great because the Steelers have mismanaged this situation worse than any NFL team could,” Rosenthal said.
Despite the fact that the start of OTAs is now just two weeks away, the Steelers have still not given Rodgers a deadline on when they feel he must sign a contract before they’ll consider other options, and it doesn’t seem likely that they will.
“We keep hearing that he’s, I guess, headed in our direction, and so that seems to indicate that all signs are positive so far,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said at the 2025 NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. in March.
Many speculated that even if the Steelers signed Rodgers, they would still draft a quarterback early. However, the Steelers waited until the sixth round to take Ohio State’s Will Howard in the 2025 NFL Draft, a move that suggested they were comfortable with a low-risk, developmental project, reinforcing the belief that Rodgers was expected to come on board.
However as time has dragged on, no deal has been signed. Fans and analysts alike are beginning to question what exactly is happening.
Perhaps, the never-ending Rodgers saga comes to a conclusion in the next few weeks. It wouldn’t be surprising if it continues to drag on throughout the summer, however.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Close Connection to Aaron Rodgers Expects Him to Sign with Steelers
