Hall of Famer rips Aaron Rodgers for being 'selfish' amid Steelers uncertainty

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter raised some eyebrows when he said that "it shouldn't be that hard" for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to decide whether or not he wants to spend another season as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback or retire. 

During a recent appearance on the "Fully Loaded" podcast, Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter echoed Schefter's take about the latest Rodgers-related saga.

Cris Carter: Aaron Rodgers is being selfish this spring

"You know he wants to play, but he just didn't want to make up his mind," Carter said about Rodgers, per Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. "You need some time away from the game. It's been a couple months from the Super Bowl. Now's that time, before the draft, the minicamps. They're an average team in the league. Aaron Rodgers is like a lot of these quarterbacks when they get to this stage. They're so, so selfish. They never want to be called that, but they're so selfish, and they're so self-centered." 

While Schefter acknowledged that "the Steelers would like to know before the draft" gets underway in Pittsburgh on April 23 if Rodgers will be on the active roster later this year, Schefter also said that he doesn't "think there's a deadline" for the 42-year-old quarterback to confirm his plans. Rodgers was linked with the Steelers throughout last offseason, but he didn't officially sign with the club until June 2025. 

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers need each other

"Aaron Rodgers wants to play," Carter continued. "He's got one place that he can play. That's in Pittsburgh, the place he played in last year, that happens to have his ex-coach." 

Current Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy was Rodgers' head coach when the two were with the Green Bay Packers from 2006 through much of the 2018 season. Meanwhile, the Steelers and Rodgers seemingly need each other if he wants to play. He will immediately become Pittsburgh's QB1 whenever he puts pen to paper on an agreement, while other teams previously in need of help at the position have already acquired quarterbacks. 

That said, it remains unclear as of the second Thursday of April when Rodgers could report to the Steelers. For now, longtime backup Mason Rudolph and 2025 rookie Will Howard remain Pittsburgh's top two signal-callers for the ongoing portions of the offseason program.