The Steelers have to stop being held hostage by Aaron Rodgers’ ego

Q: Why is Aaron Rodgers delaying his decision about the Steelers?

Aaron Rodgers is known for dragging out his decisions, which he uses to fuel his ego and generate media attention.

Q: What impact could Aaron Rodgers' indecision have on the Steelers' future?

If the Steelers remain passive and wait for Rodgers, they risk becoming a mediocre team without securing a top draft pick in a strong quarterback class.

Q: What alternatives do the Steelers have if Aaron Rodgers does not return?

The Steelers could start Drew Allar and evaluate his performance, or they could draft a new quarterback if he underperforms.

Q: How did Aaron Rodgers perform during the 2025 season with the Steelers?

In the 2025 season, Aaron Rodgers had his lowest touchdown total, lowest passing yards, and a career-low yards-per-attempt.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 12: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks off the field after losing to the Houston Texans in an NFL wild card playoff game at Acrisure Stadium on January 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) | Getty Images As offseason programs begin around the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have no idea who their starting quarterback is. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but Aaron Rodgers has been given free rein to be mercurial, explore his whims, and leave one of football’s proudest franchises in the lurch in the process — this despite being told explicitly that the team wants him. This comes after news that Rodgers *didn’t* meet with the Steelers to discuss his future over the weekend. It was expected that the two sides would discuss the quarterback’s future, with Rodgers (hopefully) making his decision on Monday. That didn’t happen, and now the Steelers are forced to wait for an answer once more. It’s a bizarre level of power they’ve afforded a player who hasn’t made them demonstrably better, and who could actively hurt the franchise by playing in 2026 by making the team good enough to prevent them landing a top pick, but not good enough to really make a run. It’s well past time for the Steelers to step up and get off this ride. They went through this entire dog and pony show with Rodgers last year, who waited until June 6 of last year to finally sign with the Steelers and announce he would be playing in the 2025 season. The result was patent mediocrity, as Rodgers finished with his lowest touchdown total for a full season, his lowest total passing yards, and a career-low 6.7 yards-per-attempt. Rodgers wasn’t terrible; he just wasn’t worth all the effort it took to get him in the building. That’s even more pronounced in 2026 with another season under his belt, more room for regression, and the Steelers being at a turning point for the franchise. The worst mistake a team can make is being unable to properly evaluate their chances to compete, because it can throw off the entire path of the franchise. The poster child for this issue is the “competitive rebuild” , who were neither able to rebuild, nor be competitive — both missing the playoffs, and not landing a high enough draft pick that they could find an impact player. The big risk the Steelers face is that by kowtowing to Rodgers and giving him the room to make the decision when he’s ready, Pittsburgh could find itself as a 9-8 or 10-7 team, and fail to land a quarterback in one of the biggest QB draft classes in recent memory. That would turn this current passivity into a multi-year problem without a good way out of it. When it comes down to brass tacks: Aaron Rodgers knows exactly what he’s going to do. He’s known for months now, just as he knew for months leading up to the 2025 season. Dragging it out, getting his name in headlines, slow-rolling the reveal on *The Pat McAfee Show* are all tools to fuel his ego, one that Rodgers persistently denies as if his “will he or won’t he” drama is a machination of the evil sports media, not him intentionally dragging out the process. The Steelers deserved better last year. They certainly deserve better now. Aaron Rodgers has played in Pittsburgh, he knows the team, he knows the offense, he intimately knows Mike McCarthy from their time together in Green Bay. There is barely a decision to make when it comes to his return. Either Rodgers wants what the Steelers are bringing to the table, or he doesn’t. In choosing not to have a deadline the Steelers are opening themselves up to being walked all over. It screams to the entire NFL that they need Rodgers more than he needs them, and that plays right into all of the quarterback’s worst instincts. The correct path forward is obvious: Start , see if he can bring anything to the table — and if he’s terrible, draft a new QB. It doesn’t need to be that complicated. It’s certainly not complicated enough to be sitting at a table waiting for Rodgers like it’s a first date and praying they’re not getting stood up.

The Steelers have to stop being held hostage by Aaron Rodgers’ ego

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

Related Articles

Sean Strickland's coach confirms new UFC champ got 'hurt pretty bad' just days before Khamzat Chimaev upset

2026 Fantasy Football: Heath Cummings' Breakouts 1.0 headline breakout TEs in evolving offenses

822/4 and a 794-run win! Cricket match produces unreal scorecard

Home run trends for Tuesday, May 12: White Sox's Munetaka Murakami leads most-wagered sluggers at DraftKings

Penguins provide key update on Evgeni Malkin contract, future in Pittsburgh

Quién es quién en la junta directiva del Madrid: 19 miembros, sólo una mujer y dos fichajes 'galácticos'

More from Sports