Steelers' Cameron Heyward clarifies comments on Aaron Rodgers amid Vikings rumors

Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward generated headlines when he said earlier in March that his "pitch" to quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be: "Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don't. It's that simple."

During a Wednesday appearance on the NFL Network "Good Morning Football" program, Heyward attempted to clarify his remarks.

"It was misconstrued," Heyward said of his original comments, as shared by Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "From my point of view, I was asked the question of, 'Would you go to the lengths of going to a darkness retreat to recruit Aaron Rodgers?' I said, 'I'm not doing that.' The pitch is: If you wanna be a Steeler, be a Steeler. It wasn't meant that I don't like Rodgers or I'm against it. I think when I look at our team right now, it would be really cool to have a guy like Aaron Rodgers, but I can't be the guy who gets it over the finish line. I think he's got to make those decisions for himself."

It's widely believed that Rodgers' preference is to sign with a Minnesota Vikings team that went 14-3 with Sam Darnold as its starter. As recently as Tuesday, 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy said he hadn't been told he will enter training camp as Minnesota's undisputed QB1 coming off the full meniscus repair that sidelined him for his entire rookie season.

Rodgers spent six hours meeting with the Steelers on March 21 but hadn't agreed to a deal with any club as of early Wednesday afternoon. Heyward confirmed he hasn't yet spoken with Rodgers about possibly signing with the Steelers, but the 35-year-old did send somewhat of a message to the future Hall of Famer. 

"If you come to the Pittsburgh Steelers," Heyward added during Wednesday's segment, "the goal is to win. You know, we haven't had the success we want, but the goal is still in mind to raise a Lombardi and bring that seventh one to Pittsburgh. We don't really care about the glitz and glam of New York, but the focus is on good hard football, competing every day, challenging each other, trying to go from there."

The Steelers seem desperate to find any quarterback who can lead them to at least their first playoff win since the 2016 campaign. Heyward hopes that Pittsburgh's quarterback situation for 2025 gets settled "sooner rather than later," but it's unclear just how long Rodgers is willing to wait to learn of the Vikings' plans for next season before he pivots to the Steelers.