If Aaron Rodgers is going to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers and be embraced as a team leader, it needs to happen this month. That\u2019s how former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck framed his personal deadline for Rodgers, explaining why it needs to happen by May 27, the first day of Organized Team Activities (OTAs).<\/p>\n
\u201cI just mentioned the three phases for a veteran quarterback,\u201d Hasselbeck told FS1\u2019s Colin Cowherd on Monday. \u201cPhase One feels like a waste of your time. Like, it\u2019s just lifting\u2026There\u2019s no football there. Anyway, Phase Two, again, you\u2019re throwing to guys on air, not that important. Phase Three I think is really important. So for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I believe that\u2019s May 27th. May 27th is the start of Phase Three.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh\u2019s offseason program began last month, but the NFL CBA forces a gradual ramp-up. It began strictly with weight room workouts with the strength and conditioning staff. More recently, the team could take the field for loosely-organized workouts but not true practices. That won\u2019t begin until the first day of OTAs on the 27th<\/a>. Though voluntary, if Rodgers is going to lead the team while getting to know the playbook and his teammates, it\u2019s hard to excuse him missing those sessions. Those OTAs are soon followed by a three-day mandatory minicamp in June.<\/p>\n \u201cI would circle that May 27th date as a date that like, it would really be detrimental to be starting the missing time at that point,\u201d Hasselbeck said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a point we\u2019ve made before and one implied by owner Art Rooney II during the draft. Publicly, Rooney\u2019s bristled more than Mike Tomlin or Omar Khan over the wait and suggested getting Aaron Rodgers\u2019 inked by the spring was important.<\/p>\n