{"id":871078,"date":"2026-04-21T09:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871078\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T09:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:57:30","slug":"broderick-jones-neck-potential-steelers-draft-day-trades-and-yes-aaron-rodgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871078\/","title":{"rendered":"Broderick Jones\u2019 neck, potential Steelers draft-day trades and, yes, Aaron Rodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trust me. The last thing I want to write about the week of the NFL Draft is Aaron Rodgers and his ongoing indecision. However, on Monday morning, several reports surfaced that the Pittsburgh Steelers do not anticipate the 42-year-old quarterback will give his answer before Thursday.<\/p>\n

Ahead of his pre-scheduled news conference on Monday, before any questions were asked, general manager Omar Khan acknowledged the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some great communication with Aaron, and nothing\u2019s changed, but it\u2019s all been positive and good,\u201d Khan said. \u201cAs I said to you (reporters) in March when we met, he knows how we feel about him, and we know he feels about us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khan also said in March that he didn\u2019t anticipate the uncertainty would linger like it did last year, when Rodgers took until June to officially commit. And while the Steelers haven\u2019t set any hard deadline, they have put up goalposts.<\/p>\n

Initially, high-level decision makers in the organization believed word from Rodgers would come around free agency. Then, at the NFL League Meeting in Arizona in late March, team president and owner Art Rooney II said that he expected a Rodgers decision by the draft.<\/p>\n

It appears the goalposts are moving again. With Rodgers absent to start a three-day bonus minicamp (which the Steelers are permitted to hold since they hired a new coach), what\u2019s the next target? The first OTA is scheduled for May 18. Like this week\u2019s practices, OTAs are voluntary under the NFL\u2019s collective bargaining agreement. Mandatory minicamp begins on June 2, for what that\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n

With that out of the way, let\u2019s move on to more news and nuggets from Khan and coach Mike McCarthy on Monday:<\/p>\n

Impact of Broderick Jones\u2019 uncertain status<\/p>\n

Khan said that left tackle Broderick Jones is \u201cobviously limited\u201d at minicamp as he works back from spinal fusion surgery in his neck. While a report<\/a> surfaced that Jones had a setback in his rehab, Khan said that \u201cnothing has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still working to try to get back where he needs to be,\u201d Khan said. \u201cNothing\u2019s changed there, and no new information since we last spoke (in March).\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether Jones sustained a setback or not, the Steelers need to consider the uncertain health of their 2023 first-round pick as the draft unfolds. The Steelers hosted Utah\u2019s Spencer Fano, who some consider the top tackle in the draft, signaling they\u2019re serious about adding to this group \u2014 potentially in an early round. Memphis\u2019 Travis Burke (third-round grade) and Miami\u2019s Markel Bell (third- or fourth-round grade) also visited.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Confident\u2019 would be the word I would use to describe our offensive-line room right now, because we have an excellent group of veterans,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got some young guys in here that are going to be good players for quite some time. So I really like the way that blends together. I think clearly O-line, D-line is something you\u2019ve got to always continue to try to add to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last line is probably the most telling part of that quote. The Steelers also hosted two of the top-four guards in the draft \u2014 Penn State\u2019s Vega Ioane and Georgia Tech\u2019s Keylan Rutledge. There\u2019s a good chance they add a guard and a tackle.<\/p>\n

Moving from 21<\/p>\n

The NFL reduced the time a team will be on the clock in the first round from 10 minutes to eight. That change has caused several teams to start talking with other organizations about moving up or down.<\/p>\n

\u201cNaturally, we\u2019ve been having \u2014 in my opinion \u2014 a little, maybe, more conversation than we normally have, just to kind of set parameters of what the value is for this spot or a trade back,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, Khan\u2019s first job<\/a> in the Steelers\u2019 draft room was to research historical trade scenarios and understand prices. That skill could become especially valuable with a league-high 12 picks.<\/p>\n

What will they do?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably too early to really say,\u201d said Khan, who moved up from 17 to 14 to select Jones in 2023. \u201cI mean, all options are on the table. We\u2019re open to whatever is best for the Steelers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The GM added that as the draft unfolds, prices could change and opportunities could emerge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just never hurts to ask, because you never know when someone\u2019s really dying to get out (of a spot),\u201d Khan said. \u201cAnd maybe the value will be different than what you thought it would take. The same going backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trading players<\/p>\n

Last year at this time, the Steelers and Cowboys began discussing a potential George Pickens trade. Not long after, the receiver was dealt. Khan said that while trade talks are common, deals are harder to execute.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happens throughout the year, not just now,\u201d Khan said. \u201cPeople will call and say, \u2018Hey, any interest in trading this player? Hey, we have this player?\u2019 Probably less than 5 percent of those calls actually turn out to be something.\u201d<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, Khan said at the combine that you can never have enough edge rushers \u2014 a position group that has prompted plenty of speculation. Even though the Steelers might appear to some to have a surplus with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer, Khan is saying, at least publicly, that he wants to keep that group together for now.<\/p>\n

30 visit considerations<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for clues about who the Steelers might draft in Round 1, pre-draft visits historically have been a good place to start. In each of his first three drafts, Khan selected a pre-draft visitor on the first night: Jones in 2023, Troy Fautanu in 2024 and Derrick Harmon in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of that\u2019s probably coincidence or just comfort you feel,\u201d Khan said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t say that our pick would have to be someone that was in for a visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Steelers have evolved their process, to a degree, with a new coaching staff. About half of the 33 visitors (including local) had some type of medical situation that might have merited further evaluation, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s different reasons to bring players in\u2026 We\u2019re not just bringing in the guys we want to draft,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI\u2019ve been three places and that was never the absolute. A lot of times there\u2019s medical questions. There\u2019s other things involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Time will tell if the new staff means an end to the trend.<\/p>\n

Versatile receiver wanted<\/p>\n

The Steelers took one substantial step to address their wide receiver room when they traded for Michael Pittman Jr. Still, that position group remains one of the top priorities. Behind DK Metcalf and Pittman, Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek are the only receivers currently on the roster. Most teams carry six receivers. The Steelers hosted more wideouts (six) than any other position, and they can be grouped into two tiers: three expected to go in Round 1 or 2, and three expected to be drafted in the mid-to-late rounds.<\/p>\n

\t \"Photo<\/a> <\/p>\n

Beyond simply adding a player to the depth chart, McCarthy is looking for a versatile athlete capable of playing inside and outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou start with the physical traits to play inside and outside,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI think historically, when you talk about a slot receiver, the first thing you think is: Can a guy run an option route? That\u2019s really what slot receivers were known for. In my experience, I\u2019ve always looked for the guy that was athletic enough and had the ability to win outside the numbers. We call it the autobahn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just never, ever (valued) having a smaller receiver just to run slot plays,\u201d the coach continued. \u201cI don\u2019t play that way, frankly, because our offensive system is built on making a quarterback successful. When you have to run concepts in a pass game dictated on, \u2018This receiver can do this and this receiver can do that,\u2019 then you don\u2019t have the ability to move them around as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right time for a QB?<\/p>\n

We started with the quarterback position, so let\u2019s end in the same way. A once-promising QB class has largely fallen apart. Instead of finding the future franchise QB in the first round, the Steelers will likely look to add a mid-round passer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a quarterback coach, I would like to work with any of these guys,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the biggest class that I\u2019ve seen, but I think you\u2019ve just got to decide, really what you\u2019re looking for. I believe in starting lines and floors and ceilings and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy said he was happy to get outside for minicamp on a windy afternoon to remind him that the Steelers play in the elements. He\u2019s talked previously about wanting a quarterback with big hands, long arms and a high floor to fit the demands of the AFC North.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trust me. The last thing I want to write about the week of the NFL Draft is Aaron…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-871078","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116442108161092043","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871078","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=871078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}