Free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers dropped a major hint he's going to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers .
During a concert last Saturday in Austin, Texas with his friend and artist, Mike Stud, Rodgers held a Q&A with the crowd.
At one point during the session, a girl asked him if he would ever play for the Chicago Bears . Rodgers replied, "No. But I believe there is a team that might play in Chicago this year, a road trip to Chicago. I love Chicago, though, way more than they love me. It's been a great relationship all one way."
The Steelers play the Bears in Week 12 at Soldier Field. The Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints also both play at Chicago this season, but Rodgers shut down the possibility of signing with the Saints.
"No," Rodgers said when asked if he would play for the Saints. "That's the answer. I've played there a couple of times, but the answer is no. I'm too old, I don't want to live in Louisiana."
So there you have it. You will not see the 41-year-old Rodgers on Bourbon Street.
Rodgers was later asked if he would sign with the Steelers, and he gave a rather ambiguous answer.
"You never know," Rodgers said.
Steelers president Art Rooney II said at the NFL owners meetings in March that the team will "not wait forever" on Aaron Rodgers. Nearly two months have passed, and Rodgers has still not signed with the Steelers.
Rooney's stance hasn't changed . He's wiling to wait things out.
"A little while longer. I'll say the same thing," Rooney said on his way out of Wednesday's owners meetings, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN .
ESPN insider Adam Schefter believes Rodgers' decision is coming very soon .
"My guess is he's going to wind up [in Pittsburgh]," Schefter said on ESPN Milwaukee. "I think that we've heard Art Rooney, the team owner, say he expects Aaron Rodgers to sign there, and they have mandatory minicamp June 10th to the 12th, so I would think Rodgers is on the table here in the next week or so."
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 20, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Rodgers' biographer Ian O'Connor also thinks the four-time league MVP will sign with the Steelers by the end of May.
"Talking to a couple of people close to Aaron, I have a sense of what it might be," O'Connor said on 93.7 the Fan . "I'm not comfortable reporting it right now, but I don't think it would prevent him from playing football with the Steelers… I just think verbally, behind the scenes, not that he guaranteed it, but he's told (the Steelers), 'Listen I'm gonna play for you. I just don't want to go there and then miss part of mandatory minicamp because of my personal issues. I'm pretty sure they're gonna be solved by the end of May, at least in my satisfaction where I can give you my all.' I think that's where he is."
Rodgers appears to be in no rush, as he spent over three hours on Joe Rogan's podcast on Wednesday. The two discussed a wide-range of topics, but nothing football-related.
Rodgers revealed a possible reason for his delay.
"I've figured it out the last year when I've been in the weeds with these people who are close to me that have cancer," Rodgers said onthe Joe Rogan Experience Podcas t.
That lines up with what the 41-year-old said on the Pat McAfee Show in April.
"I have off-the-field stuff going on that requires my attention," he said. "I have personal commitments I have made. I have a couple of people in my inner, inner circle who are battling some difficult stuff. So, I have a lot of things that are taking my attention."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Aaron Rodgers Shuts Down Idea of Playing for Saints: 'I Don't Want to Live in Louisiana'
