{"id":71925,"date":"2025-05-23T04:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T04:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/71925\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T04:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T04:03:09","slug":"former-nfl-gm-aaron-rodgers-not-signing-before-otas-would-speak-volumes-to-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/71925\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NFL GM: Aaron Rodgers Not Signing Before OTAs Would Speak ‘Volumes’ To Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

When free agency opened this year, the big question for the Pittsburgh Steelers was who their quarterback would be in 2025. A few months later the Steelers still don\u2019t really have an answer. Mason Rudolph is penciled in as their starter, but they\u2019re still pursuing Aaron Rodgers. Despite neither the Steelers nor Rodgers seeming to have many other options, there\u2019s still no deal done between them.<\/a> OTAs are almost here, and it\u2019s unclear if Rodgers will join the Steelers before then. Former NFL general manager Ran Carthon thinks that could frustrate players.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe Aaron Rodgers is a little further along with this Pittsburgh decision, nod-nod-wink-wink agreement, and even what the offense is,\u201d Carthon said Thursday on the With the First Pick podcast.<\/a> \u201cWe don\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I think it speaks volumes for the rest of the team. For a guy that you\u2019re gonna be counting on as your quarterback, he\u2019s not on the field with you right now when this is the time of year that you start to build the bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of speculation about whether or not Rodgers and the Steelers already have a deal in place. However, it doesn\u2019t feel like that\u2019s the case. Rodgers is dealing with personal issues that require most of his attention. Therefore, he can\u2019t totally commit to football.<\/p>\n

The Steelers seem comfortable waiting to see if Rodgers will return to football. With the four-time league MVP visiting Pittsburgh this offseason, it feels likely that he will sign with the Steelers if he continues playing. However, that\u2019s not guaranteed, and the Steelers seemingly haven\u2019t put a deadline on<\/a> Rodgers.<\/p>\n

Rodgers might not sign with the Steelers until after OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Perhaps that would irritate players. While OTAs are voluntary, they\u2019re the first opportunity for the entire team to practice together and start to form relationships.<\/p>\n

For Rodgers, who would be joining a new team and learning a new offense, those sessions could be extremely important. Quarterback is the most important position on the team. While Rodgers is one of the best ever, developing chemistry with his potential new teammates is still key.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s important to note that several Steelers have sounded understanding of Rodgers\u2019 situation. Cam Heyward has continued to preach patience.<\/a> Will Howard sounds excited at the prospect of playing with Rodgers. While other players might not share those feelings, it doesn\u2019t feel like everyone on the team is upset with Rodgers continuing to wait.<\/p>\n

Also, Rodgers still has time to sign before OTAs begin. Even if he misses those, he could join the Steelers for mandatory minicamp. This situation might only require a little more patience.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When free agency opened this year, the big question for the Pittsburgh Steelers was who their quarterback would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1586,7,6,57,12277,12278],"class_list":{"0":"post-71925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","12":"tag-ran-carthon","13":"tag-with-the-first-pick-podcast"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114555165335822860","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}