Are Steelers preparing to not have Aaron Rodgers for 2025 season?

A recent report indicated that the Pittsburgh Steelers could "start to look at other options" if quarterback Aaron Rodgers remains a free agent when players arrive for training-camp practices in July. 

It sounds like some people within the Steelers are preparing for the possibility that the club may need to reach out to the Atlanta Falcons about a trade for veteran Kirk Cousins sooner rather than later. 

"When I check with people there, I kinda hear the same thing -- 'We remain optimistic,'" league insider Jeremy Fowler said during Monday's edition of the ESPN "NFL Live" program about Pittsburgh's quarterback situation, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "I do sense Cousins is, at the very least, a plan B for them, that he's on their radar depending on how things go in [organized team activities] with what they currently have."

It seems unlikely that longtime backup Mason Rudolph could perform well enough from Tuesday through the end of Pittsburgh's three-day mandatory minicamp on June 12 to convince head coach Mike Tomlin that neither Rodgers nor Cousins would be an upgrade for the club. 

Fowler offered his update after NFL Media's Tom Pelissero said ahead of this past weekend that Rodgers had "not affirmatively told the Steelers that he is coming" as of that time. As for Cousins, he seemingly doesn't want to serve as a backup for Michael Penix Jr. after the 2024 first-round draft pick became Atlanta's full-time QB1 this past December. 

Along with giving up at least a draft asset to acquire Cousins, Pittsburgh may also have "to pay a significant portion of" the salary attached to the four-year, $180M deal the 36-year-old signed in March 2024. That said, such a trade may not cost Pittsburgh much, considering Cousins reportedly has "become an out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing for the" Falcons this spring. 

There was no sign as of the morning of June 3 that any other team was close to acquiring Cousins, meaning Pittsburgh could continue to wait to hear from Rodgers until further notice. At some point, though, one wonders if Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan could determine that Rodgers isn't as committed to helping the 2025 Steelers win games as a version of Cousins who probably has a chip on his shoulder would be come September.