Insider explains why Steelers may still be confident about signing Aaron Rodgers

Multiple members of the NFL community have publicly suggested that quarterback Aaron Rodgers has remained unsigned through the first week of May because he doesn't really want to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers later this year. 

During a Monday appearance on Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan, NFL insider James Palmer of Bleacher Report shared why Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin may still feel confident that he'll have Rodgers as his QB1 this summer. 

"Maybe this is going the way that everybody involved understands it to happen," Palmer said about the Pittsburgh-Rodgers situation, per Jake Brockhoff of Steelers Depot. "And at the same time, I know that he [Rodgers] has stayed in relatively constant contact with Mike Tomlin. So I do believe there's enough things pointing that Aaron Rodgers would be the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers." 

Rodgers raised some eyebrows when he said during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on April 17 that he was "trying to be open to everything and not specifically attached to anything" when it comes to deciding his plans for the 2025 NFL season. However, Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II later mentioned during the draft that he believed Rodgers "does want to come" to Pittsburgh. 

Additionally, it's worth repeating that the Steelers have acted like a team that thinks it will have a future Hall of Famer serving as its starting quarterback when meaningful games begin in September. Pittsburgh let both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields leave in free agency, and the club entered the draft with longtime backup Mason Rudolph and possible QB3 Skylar Thompson on the roster. The Steelers then took a flier on developmental prospect Will Howard out of Ohio State in the draft's sixth round. 

According to Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks Rodgers may wait to sign with Pittsburgh until after the league's schedule release on May 14 in an attempt to prevent the club from receiving additional prime-time assignments for the 2025 campaign. Meanwhile, it's assumed Pittsburgh could pursue a trade for Atlanta Falcons backup Kirk Cousins if Rodgers ultimately turns the Steelers down. 

2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. replaced Cousins in the Atlanta starting lineup this past December.