Nobody in the Pittsburgh Steelers wants to rip free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers over his indecisiveness.
Today, he's a guy many of them grew up watching on TV, a 41-year-old faded icon.
But tomorrow? He may be their teammate - and given his track record, good and bad, their self-proclaimed leader.
At the same time, Rodgers is the No. 1 "Steelers story'' going ... nationally and otherwise. And as the 2025 team works at OTAs in part with the goal of building a rapport with one another ...
Eventually, somebody is going to say something.
Indeed, with subtlety, somebody just did.
Steelers starting center Zach Frazier is a young fella but he also has leadership traits. And this week, while he certainly didn't "call out'' Rodgers - again, soon enough, Frazier and Rodgers might be working in unison snapping the ball 65 times a game - Frazier did issue a comment that can be taken as a message to ...
Well, to anyone who will bother to listen.
“It’s not up to me, so I don’t really know,” Frazier said of progress being made toward Rodgers accepting the one-year, $30 million contract that has been on the table for months. “Chemistry is important, I’ll say that.”
Indeed.
Whatever "chemistry'' Rodgers brought to the New York Jets last year - we would argue "not much'' - they finished a dismal 5-12. This doesn't mean he's devoid of attributes. But a relationship with teammates (not to mention with the playbook) would be advantageous.
Without that?
Even with Rodgers eventually showing up, and theoretically playing well enough, the Steelers may be starting from behind.
And Frazier cannot be alone in this locker room in his understanding of that.
