Insider shares how Steelers may react if they fail to sign Aaron Rodgers

Free agent Aaron Rodgers recently teased that he will soon sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers to serve as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season over longtime backup Mason Rudolph. 

During a Monday appearance on the ESPN Radio "Unsportsmanlike" program, NFL insider Dan Graziano touched upon how people within the Steelers, such as head coach Mike Tomlin, may react if Pittsburgh has to head into September with Rudolph instead of Rodgers atop the depth chart. 

"They don't hate Mason Rudolph," Graziano said, as shared by Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. "He helped them get to the playoffs two years ago with the way he played in December. They feel like Mason Rudolph can play quarterback well enough that they can be a playoff team because of their defense and their run game, whatever else that they're doing, they're coaching...I think if Aaron Rodgers shows up, they're fine with it. I think if he doesn't show up, they're fine with it, and they don't feel like they're sitting here waiting for Patrick Mahomes to make a decision. Aaron Rodgers is 41 years old, wasn't very good last year, and you're not getting the MVP-caliber dude at this point in his career."

A previous report noted that Steelers coaches and players "really like" Rudolph because "he has a lot of cache built up in the organization" for the way he guided the club to three straight victories and a playoff berth late in the 2023 season. That said, it's hardly a secret that Tomlin is seemingly convinced Rodgers will be an upgrade over what Pittsburgh got from signal-callers Russell Wilson and Justin Fields during the 2024 campaign.

Rodgers may no longer be an "MVP-caliber dude," but it's worth remembering that he was coming off the torn Achilles he suffered in September 2023 last season. He was also slowed by multiple injury issues until he looked a little more like his best self over what became the final four games of his New York Jets tenure.

The Steelers let both Wilson and Fields leave via free agency, and there's no indication Pittsburgh came all that close to acquiring a QB1 such as Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks or Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders before the AFC North club turned its attention to Rodgers. 

"I think if you got the Steelers and you gave them truth serum," Graziano added, "what they would tell you is we didn't really like any of the options that were available at quarterback this offseason, including Aaron Rodgers. So we're just kind of going with what we ended up being left with."

It remains to be seen if Rodgers will officially join the Steelers before their three-day mandatory minicamp gets underway on June 10. Rodgers electing not to participate in those workouts would likely lead to additional takes about how those inside the Pittsburgh locker room may truly feel about the future Hall of Famer staying away from the team throughout the spring.