As always, it all comes back to Aaron Rodgers.
The New York Giants signed Russell Wilson on Tuesday and that move itself isn't that interesting. Wilson is on the backside of his career. He's on a one-year deal for a bad team. The signing doesn't answer all the questions about the Giants' NFL Draft plans at quarterback, specifically with Shedeur Sanders. It was just a move by the Giants to get the safest veteran starter available as a bridge to whatever comes in 2026.
It was more interesting for what it meant to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers.
Unless the Giants have decided to make their quarterback room the island of misfit toys, they're out on Rodgers. That leaves one realistic landing spot left for Rodgers, and it's the Steelers. There's also one realistic quarterback solution left for the Steelers, and it's Rodgers.
The question is, what happens to both sides if that doesn't work out?
Aaron Rodgers' options if he doesn't sign with Steelers
The most likely conclusion is Rodgers to the Steelers. It has been since early in free agency. Rodgers wanted a good team to land with, and the Steelers were the only one with a playoff-level roster that was looking for a quarterback. The Steelers clearly were lukewarm at best on Wilson returning. Other viable starters went elsewhere. Rodgers is the last reasonable QB standing.
But it hasn't happened yet. When a signing looks obvious but doesn't happen for weeks, there are clearly some holdups from one side, or both.
If the deal gets done, it's not perfect but reasonable from both sides. But while Rodgers does have other options, the Steelers might not.
Rodgers could retire. He's going to be 42 in December and has accomplished everything in the NFL. A 5-12 season with the New York Jets wouldn't be his ideal ending, but very few NFL players get the storybook sendoff. He could retire now, start whatever post-football project he has in mind and start the five-year clock to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That's not the worst scenario for him.
Rodgers could also just keep waiting. If he doesn't love the Steelers' situation, he could gamble that at some point a contending team would lose its quarterback and pick up the phone. How many times have we seen a good team lose its quarterback in September or October and have no good option to replace him? Rodgers would be the enticing to a desperate team in that situation.
At least Rodgers can continue to wait it out, or just walk away. The Steelers don't have that luxury.
Who would start at QB for the Steelers?
Someone will line up as the Steelers' starting quarterback in Week 1 if it's not Rodgers. It's just hard to figure out who that might be.
Mason Rudolph would be the default answer. He came back to the Steelers this offseason as a free agent. The Steelers did win all three games he started two seasons ago; they'd talk themselves into it if they had to. But that's not a high upside choice.
It might be better than signing Joe Flacco, who looked like he was at the end last season with the Indianapolis Colts. Carson Wentz wouldn't get anyone excited either, though he's another option.
Maybe Pittsburgh is the team to call the Atlanta Falcons about Kirk Cousins, but at this point the Falcons aren't giving Cousins away. They've paid him a $10 million bonus and he can be a stable backup for unproven Michael Penix Jr. There are also plenty of questions about how much Cousins has left after he was benched last season.
The NFL Draft is another opportunity, but there's not much excitement about the quarterback class. Even the top two prospects have been picked apart, so picking the third or fourth option off the board with the 21st overall pick doesn't seem like a great solution for the Steelers. At best someone like Jaxson Dart (if Dart is even available at 21) would be a player who should sit at least a year, not a plug-and-play starter for a team that made the playoffs last season.
So that's what the Steelers would be deciding between, if it's not Rodgers. Rudolph is better suited as a backup. Flacco was benched quickly by the Indianapolis Colts last season. Multiple teams have moved on from Wentz. A rookie like Dart or Jalen Milroe seems very unlikely to keep the Steelers on pace with Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow in the AFC North.
That's why the Steelers wait. Some Steelers fans aren't excited about the possibility of signing Rodgers, who brings a lot of baggage including the terrible history of 40-year-old quarterbacks in the NFL. But it's not like any of the other options are better.
