Steelers HC Mike Tomlin expands on meeting with Aaron Rodgers amid uncertainty

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated on Sunday that his team isn't all that close to signing quarterback Aaron Rodgers in free agency amid reports claiming that Rodgers' "preference" is to join the Minnesota Vikings.

While speaking with reporters at the NFL owners meetings on Monday morning, Tomlin discussed Rodgers' visit with the Steelers that occurred earlier in March and reportedly lasted for more than six hours.

"We had a really productive day," Tomlin explained, as shared by Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "He's been in this thing a long time. I've been in this thing a long time. But there's no substitute for intimacy and spending time together and getting to know one another in a non-competitive environment. So, that was really good. But I don't have any new updates in terms of where the process is. We'll see where it leads us."

While NFL Media's Mike Garafolo revealed on Monday that Rodgers and recently acquired Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf "had a throwing session over the weekend," the future Hall of Famer is seemingly willing to wait for the Vikings to determine if they will name 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy their QB1 coming off the meniscus repair that sidelined McCarthy for his entire rookie season. 

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah recently did not rule out Rodgers being an option for the club amid McCarthy's ongoing recovery. Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said he's "really excited to see [McCarthy] hit the ground running" during springtime workouts. 

Meanwhile, the Steelers currently have longtime backup Mason Rudolph atop their depth chart as they wait for Rodgers to make a decision. Even if Pittsburgh plans to target Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart or Alabama's Jalen Milroe during the draft, Tomlin could want one of those to-be rookies to develop as a backup for either Rodgers or Rudolph.

"I'm really comfortable with being unsettled at this time of year, to be quite honest with you. It's about talent acquisition," Tomlin added. "We've got two main means of acquiring talent -- free agency and the draft. We multitask. We do both. Those needs that we fulfill in free agency, we do so there, and when we don't, we fulfill it in the draft. I just learned over the years that this time of the year, although day to day it could be somewhat uncomfortable, it is a process."

As much as Tomlin and Co. would probably want to have Rodgers in the building sooner rather than later, it shouldn't take much time for the 41-year-old to learn the system run by Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Then again, it's possible Rodgers will remain unsigned through the summer if the Vikings give McCarthy the keys to their offense at some point between now and the end of training camp.