Art Rooney II addresses how much longer Steelers are willing to wait for Aaron Rodgers' decision

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin insisted while speaking at the NFL owners meetings on Monday he's "comfortable with being unsettled at this time of year" as the club waits for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to make a decision regarding his plans for the 2025 season. 

Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II seemingly doesn't share Tomlin's exact emotions as Pittsburgh has longtime backup Mason Rudolph atop its depth chart this spring. 

"Didn’t envision taking this long, no," Rooney said about the Rodgers saga, as shared by Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 

Rooney was then asked how much longer he's willing to wait before he possibly goes in a different direction. 

"Well, not forever, but a little while longer," he responded. 

Rooney and Co. don't have any other choice as of the opening day of April. Once-available signal-callers such as Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones and Geno Smith all have new football homes. Even if Rooney decided he wanted to pursue Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons, Cousins may not waive his no-trade clause before the first night of the draft wraps up on April 24. 

Numerous reports have indicated that Rodgers is hoping the Minnesota Vikings will ultimately determine that 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy isn't ready to start for an advertised playoff team coming off the full meniscus repair that cost him his rookie season. 

With that said, Rodgers completed a throwing session with recently acquired Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf this past weekend. That left Rooney feeling "pretty good about" his team eventually signing Rodgers this spring. 

"I would say it’s a good sign he wanted to do that," Rooney said about Rodgers working out with Metcalf. "We keep hearing that he is heading in our direction. All signs are positive so far."

Rodgers reportedly hasn't completely closed the door on either remaining unsigned through the 2025 season or retiring. Tomlin may have no problem with a future Hall of Famer such as Rodgers skipping the voluntary portion of the offseason program, but one wonders how others in the Steelers locker room feel about the 41-year-old keeping his options open as the Vikings continue to evaluate McCarthy's ongoing recovery.