Rodgers' future still unclear as draft approaches
Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss Aaron Rodgers ' future and how the Pittsburgh Steelers could address quarterback as the 2026 NFL Draft approaches.
Video Transcript
And there's been plenty of speculation that the Steelers have something cooked up.
Aaron Rodgers is part of this plan where there's gonna be a big reveal.
Maybe it'll be like the Rocky statue, but it'll be Aaron Rodgers under the sheet when they pull it off.
Maybe he'll show up and announce the Steelers' first-round pick on Thursday night.
Whatever the case may be, there's this sense that they're waiting for next week.
And it makes sense to me because the average Steeler fan is kinda lukewarm about another year with Aaron Rodgers.
So let's leverage the excitement of the draft to maybe get people to get excited about another run with Aaron Rodgers.
Yeah, maybe.
I mean, a- maybe he could come out when they draft Ty Simpson and be like, "Hey, here's both your quarterbacks.
Woo!
Here comes this issue.
Have fun dealing with that."
Okay.
No, I, I mean, I, I hear you.
It, it would make for great television.
It would do that.
I'm sure it would endear him to the fans a little bit.
The, the Pittsburgh Steeler fans a little bit right now gotta be like, "What, what happens if he decides he doesn't wanna play?
Are we really gonna ride with Will Howard?"
I know Mike McCarthy has said all these things, but, you know, again, that, that's a big question mark.
And yeah, within this draft, of course, the Steelers are one of the few teams, handful of teams there, that you go, yeah, they could be one of the teams that actually drafts Ty Simpson.
Will they draft him at pick 21?
I don't know.
Will they trade back in maybe late in the first round and try to get him there?
I, I don't know either, but yeah, that'll certainly be one of the story lines of this draft is, is Aaron Rodgers gonna be the Steelers, and the Steelers gonna draft a quarterback?
And is Ty Simpson actually gonna go in the first round?
And I think those'll be three of the big things we talk about that night, while we're watching on TV.
Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen was on Good Morning Football yesterday, and he put it at 50/50 for Rodgers to come back.
Yeah.
Which is kinda surprising.
Yeah.
Unless he's just being careful, and you know, you gotta be careful.
Like, Rodgers gets upset when people talk about what he's gonna do, and, "Don't talk about me.
Why are you talking about me?
Hey, talk about me some more.
Please talk about the fact that I'm not talking."
But I, I mean, they seem to be ready for any outcome, and we haven't heard much about it.
We've heard less this year than last year.
Yeah.
And we were led to believe going into this off-season it would move faster than last year.
Now, when you see Mike McCarthy or Art Rooney II talk about it, especially Rooney, there was kind of a cat that ate the canary thing.
Like, you know, kinda smiling, like he knows more than he's saying, and maybe Rodgers wasn't even happy about that.
So who knows?
At the end of the day, it's Rodgers' call.
And one of the things that Queen said yesterday is, "We have to be better for Rodgers next year."
I mean, do you really think the Steelers are gonna be better this year?
Like, I, I think that's a big issue for Rodgers.
Yeah, you don't want your last act in the NFL to have been a pick six in a playoff game, but do you even get back to the playoffs this year?
I don't know.
I, I, I don't know either.
I mean, i- if you asked me or we had to bet on it right now, and I know we haven't seen the finality of rosters and all that, but just in his own division, I'd go, no, I expect Cincinnati and Joe Burrow to be different.
I certainly don't think the Ravens'll be asleep at the wheel next year.
I think those things'll change.
And yeah, you look at their roster and you go, yeah, there's still some aging issues there.
there, there's not a lot of elite position units where you go, ooh, wow there.
So yeah, to your point there, no, if you made me bet right now, I would bet Pittsburgh's not in the playoffs next year.
If he doesn't play for the Steelers, I'd put my money on he waits for a contender to lose their quarterback for an extended stretch, if not the rest of the season.
Yeah.
I, I, I think I, I hear you.
Just wait.
Yeah.
Stay in shape.
Stay in shape and wait.
Yeah.
You know, a Philip Rivers situation.
something along those lines, where he can just come back and play in a spot where he thinks he'll get to the playoffs and have a chance to win some playoff games.
Yeah.
'Cause I don't That, that, that Monday night game last year, 30 to 6, it was just ugly.
It was ugly.
And then Mike Tomlin leaves.
I, I don't, I, I've been surprised there's been a presumption he's coming back because I look at it and I say, "Why, why does he think he's gonna be better this year- Yeah than he was last?"
