Aaron Rodgers ends months-long dance with Steelers by consenting to
PITTSBURGH (AP)– Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are taking their long-simmering bromance to the next level.The four-time NFL MVP ended months of” Will he? Or won’t he?” speculation by consenting to an one-year handle the Pittsburgh Steelers, pending the 41-year-old passing a physical. Financial regards to the deal were not announced.Advertisement The Steelers and
Rodgers had actually been circling around each other for months. Rodgers even visited the team’s center in late March, driving in undercover in a nondescript sedan wearing a hat and sunglasses.While there were a lot of great words from both sides in the after-effects, Rodgers didn’t hurry to put pen to paper, informing”The Pat McAfee Program “in April that his attention was concentrated on helping people in his inner circle who were”battling some challenging things” and that he didn’t want to decide until he understood he might completely commit.With obligatory minicamp following week, Rodgers obviously finds himself in a location where he can provide the Steelers his full attention.Rodgers signs up with a team that has actually been stuck in a transitional period at quarterback considering that Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. Either Rodgers or Mason Rudolph– who returned to Pittsburgh on a two-year handle March– will likely be Pittsburgh’s 5th Week 1 quarterback in five seasons.Advertisement The Steelers have stayed competitive, approximately a point anyway, amid the continuous churn at the most crucial position on the field. Pittsburgh has reached the
playoffs 4 times
in the last five seasons, only to be quickly escorted out of the postseason in uneven fashion each time.Justin Fields and Russell Wilson– who combined to lead the Steelers to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth last season– ended up in New york city. Fields will replace Rodgers with the Jets after agreeing to a two-year
deal. Wilson is heading to the Giants on an one-year contract.Those deals left Rodgers and the Steelers without any other sensible options. Both sides have their reasons for consummating what is basically a marital relationship of convenience.Rodgers intends to author a happier ending to his Hall of Popularity career after two eventful
, if underwhelming, seasons with the Jets. While Rodgers is hardly a long-term option in Pittsburgh, he is the best alternative left after the Steelers picked not to utilize among their greater choices
in April’s draft on a quarterback, instead taking a late-round flyer on former Ohio State star Will Howard.Advertisement The union brings Rodgers and Tomlin– the longest-tenured head coach in major expert North American sports– together after years of what is the football equivalent of flirting.They have actually long held each other in reverence and have actually enjoyed a handful of remarkable on-field interactions that went viral. Last fall, they playfully nodded at each other as a sign of regard after Tomlin was required to burn a timeout when Rodgers attempted a fast snap that would have ended with the Steelers being penalized for having a lot of guys on the field.Pittsburgh is hoping Rodgers has enough left physically to go with a football IQ that stays elite. He was solid if not incredible last season in New York, throwing for 28 goals versus 11 interceptions.Yet his play on the field often took a rear seats to the drama off it as the Jets cycled through coaches and hopped to a 5-12 record, with Rodgers spending much of his time in New York safeguarding remarks he made on platforms like”
The Pat McAfee Show.”Advertisement The Steelers are no complete strangers to drama. If there’s been one consistent given that the team’s last Super Bowl look– a loss to Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in February 2011– it’s the capability to utilize gifted,
if mercurial players.The list runs the range, from Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown to Le’Veon Bell to JuJu Smith-Schuster to George Pickens, traded to Dallas last month.Pittsburgh has actually retooled a bit in the offseason, consisting of getting two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DK Metcalf from Seattle. The Steelers rapidly signed him to a new five-year offer to bring some stability(and ideally maturity) to a wide receiver room that’s done not have both.The one thing Pittsburgh hadn’t done was do the very same at the most crucial position on the field. Tomlin and group president Art Rooney II both kept the door open for Fields and Wilson to return, only to stand by idly when Fields bolted for the Jets and make no major attempt to maintain Wilson.Advertisement While the Steelers did bring back Rudolph, a season removed from leading them on an improbable go to the playoffs, he is thought about a backup.The field of skilled players readily available ultimately winnowed down to Rodgers.His arrival is a stopgap, one that Pittsburgh hopes will keep it competitive up until a long-lasting service shows up, probably in the 2026 draft. Till then, Rodgers and the Steelers will try to make the best of a marital relationship of convenience of their own making. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi added to this report. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl