Are Steelers sending message with latest Aaron Rodgers move?

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the Pittsburgh Steelers placed the unrestricted free agent tender on Aaron Rodgers.

That gives him a 10 percent raise and positions the Steelers to receive a compensatory draft pick if he signs with another team, which, given how the offseason has gone, looked like a long shot anyway.

That's why NFL insider Mike Florio believes there's something fishy going on in Pittsburgh.

In the latest edition of his podcast, he argued that the Steelers might be purposely trying to rub Rodgers the wrong way so he decides to retire without making them look bad.

Are the Steelers playing mind games with Aaron Rodgers?

“The Steelers may not even know why they did it. But I know this – Rodgers won't like it," Florio said. "He'll perceive that they're playing games with him."

Per Florio, this move was made only so the Steelers could gain leverage in the compensatory pick formula.

More than that, it might be a way to let Rodgers know that they're fine if he doesn't come back, even though he has some obvious ties to Mike McCarthy.

"So, here's the question. Do they want him to perceive that? Is this their way to get off the Aaron Rodgers ride? To get him to say, ‘I'm not coming back,' without them having to say, ‘We're really not interested in continuing this.' Because I continue to believe, truth be told, new coach Mike McCarthy would prefer to move on without his former Packers quarterback," Florio continued. 

Most people would gladly take the raise, especially given that this will most likely be his final year in the league.

Then again, Rodgers has proven over and over that he's not like most people, and he doesn't take it lightly when his team makes a move without his knowledge.

Moreover, even if he won a ring with McCarthy and they've said all the right things about one another, they also had their fair share of run-ins during their tenure together.

The Steelers rolled the dice on a physically gifted but significantly raw prospect in Drew Allar, and if McCarthy isn't willing to deal with everything that comes with the Aaron Rodgers experience, perhaps Florio's wild theory might not be that far-fetched.