The field is clear and the table is set.
Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have been escorted out of the facility leaving in free agency in part because the Pittsburgh Steelers sort of thought they had a plan.
Maybe even thought they had a deal.
As the club plotted for the next starting quarterback, a offer was make to four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.
According to multiple reports, the Steelers have offered the future Hall of Famer a one-year contract worth $30 million, with $10.5 million of it guaranteed.
As the club plotted for the next starting quarterback, a offer was make to four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.
According to multiple reports, the Steelers have offered the future Hall of Famer a one-year contract worth $30 million, with $10.5 million of it guaranteed.
How confident was Pittsburgh that this would suffice?
Owner Art Rooney II is on-record as expressing surprise that it isn't already done.
It seems the team wants to sent the message that it is set on that number, and will not go any higher.
So, what's the problem?
Aaron Rodgers - shocker! - is the problem.
And more specifically?
"Usually it’s money," Dianna Russini of The Athletic says.
Yup.
"Financials are always part of it," she added. "He does not need to sign and take some cheap deal. He knows the Steelers need him ... There’s gonna be a number here that’s gonna make Aaron happy. And I just don’t know if Pittsburgh is there yet."
What those who've dealt with Rodgers in the past can tell you is that "making Aaron happy'' is an impossible dream.
With Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson being the only quarterbacks on the roster, the Steelers are likely thinking about drafting a quarterback high here at the end of April. That complicates the room ...
As would overpaying Rodgers.
Rodgers at 41 had one of the worst seasons of his career this past season with the New York Jets, as he had double-digit interceptions for just the fourth time in his 20 years in the league.
We never thought bending over backwards to satisfy him was the best Steelers solution. But that's where Pittsburgh is now - trying to satisfy a person who simply cannot be satisfied.
