Aaron Rodgers Fiasco is Embarrassing for Steelers

This week Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw went public to provide his opinion on his former team’s chase of Aaron Rodgers among commenting on other quarterback issues the Black and Gold are currently encountering. Given that I’ve already been disgusted by this desire to have Rodgers become our starting quarterback, the fact that a man that won four Super Bowls with the team and is a well respected television analyst has just added fuel to the fire for those who want no part of Rodgers playing in the ‘Burgh.

I have already been angered by this Aaron Rodgers fiasco; this forthcoming season will be my 53rd as a diehard fan. With the “Immaculate Reception” my very first Pittsburgh Steelers memory way back in 1972 when I was 13 years old, I’ve been a faithful fan since. In all those 53 years I have never lost my pride in the team from the city I was raised. That pride has certainly been seriously dented with this Rodgers clown show and for any Steelers fan they should be embarrassed, disgusted, and angry that Art Rooney II, Omar Khan, and Mike Tomlin are salivating over the opportunity to have an over the hill Rodgers be their starting quarterback. 

As said, Bradshaw’s comments are simply proof that Rooney, Khan, and Tomlin are not taking into consideration the impact this chase of the former Packers and Jets quarterback is not being taken well among fans of Steelers Nation. There have been two great quarterbacks in this history of the Steelers. Bradshaw is one and “Big Ben” Roethlisberger the other. Between them there are five of the six Super Bowls the team owns. Neither likes the Aaron Rodgers possibility. 

Earlier in May, Roethlisberger told the media “I Think Aaron secretly, again, just my opinion, I think Aaron is secretly still holding out for Minnesota, which is why he hasn’t signed with the Steelers.” At this point we know the Vikings are no longer an option leaving Rodgers with only one decision…retire or play for the Steelers. Big Ben hasn’t outright said don’t sign Aaron Rodgers and in fact believes with last year’s Jets’ quarterback playing in Black and Gold the team would finish 11-6. With Mason Rudolph calling the signals Roethlisberger drops our 2025 record to 7-10. 

Despite his Rudolph prediction, Big Ben says Mason would be a capable starter: “If you don’t end up getting him (Rodgers), I think you can stick with Mason and be happy with what you’re going to get. Mason can throw the ball. That’s never been a question. He can make decisions and get the ball out of his hand. He’s not afraid to take shots down the field either…He’s not one of these guys that gets nervous and just wants to get the ball out of his hands right away. He’ll sit in there, and he’ll throw it down the field. I think that’s what you’ve got to do when you have George Pickens and KD Metcalf. Those are deep down the field type guys.”

This was obviously stated before Pickens was traded to Dallas. As for Bradshaw’s commentary, it was a far harsher criticism of the team he played his entire career with. Now Bradshaw fully established for years on Fox Sports, had the following commentary about the Rodgers and Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation.

“That’s a joke. That to me is just a joke. What are you gonna do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.” 

Bradshaw never wanted to see Kenny Pickett get traded:

“I like Kenny Pickett. I liked him at Pitt. I know him, I know what he’s like. When they got him, they didn’t protect him, they didn’t get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn’t have an offensive line that could protect, and they didn’t have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of. Then they throw a kid in there for two years and you’ve got an offense that doesn’t fit and doesn’t work, and they can’t run because their offensive line’s not even good enough for a run-blocking team. Now, they’re saying Kenny Pickett is a failure. He wasn’t a failure; the Steelers were a failure.”

OUCH. To hear Bradshaw call his own team a failure is throwing salt on the wounds. When #12 met Rodgers for the first time he said the experience left him with this thought, “You get in his presence, and you feel like it’s about to start snowing.” I interpret that to mean Rodgers is as cold as ice. Anyone that has followed the career of Aaron Rodgers knows he has been a great quarterback in the past. He and the Packers defeated the Steelers in the Super Bowl, so he owns a championship ring. But along the way, the guy is an absolute flake. He’s weird in his own way but he is also a pariah in the locker room. He’s a cancer. No doubt about it. That raises the question as to does the current roster of players want him as a teammate?

Defensive star Cam Heyward has already gone public about his doubts as Rodgers joining the team then he tried to backtrack a bit on his commentary. Perhaps the players on the team are staying quiet but I find it hard to believe they would really welcome this character into their locker room knowing it might be for just one season. I found comments from former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, also a hall of famer regarding this current situation.

Said the “Chin”:

“Does he really want to play? I mean, the longer you wait, you just must wonder where in his heart, and how much does he really want to do? And I said, I just think when somebody starts talking about retirement, they’ve already checked the box, so they’ve checked out to some degree. So how much has he nullified to want to come here and be part of trying to win a championship and then consequently be a bridge to the next guy.”

Nearly every sports personality I’ve listened to or read has expressed the idea that bringing Aaron Rodgers to the team is essentially a bad idea. Pittsburgh sportswriter and radio show host Mark Madden had this to say: “He’s coming in so late. It just can’t work. Even if he plays well, he won’t play well enough soon enough. And I bet they lose some games they shouldn’t.”

Madden added this fireball: “I bet the fans in Pittsburgh turn on Rodgers quickly. And what makes that story even better is when they turn on Rodgers, they’re going to want Will Howard, the rookie. Put the kid in. Let’s see what he can do!”

We also have former Steelers cornerback Ryan Clark, a great player. Clark is now a very well-respected ESPN analyst and does not hold back in his opinions about any topic. With the Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers relationship he had this to say back in April:

“It makes me sick, to be honest. If unless Omar Khan has some sort of promise or lean on Aaron Rodgers, believing that he is going to come back and play football, and if he is going to play football, he is going to as a Pittsburgh Steeler, I feel like this has been mishandled already…what has Aaron Rodgers done in the last two years since leaving Green Bay that says he should be afforded this type of time?”

When Clark speaks of time, it makes me remember what team President Art Rooney II said shortly after the draft when asked how long he will wait for Aaron Rodgers. His response was “we’ll wait a little longer…but not too long.” We are now 32 days removed from the end of the NFL draft last April and this Aaron Rodgers saga began shortly after the season ended in January. So how long is long? 

Sports shows continue to slam the Pittsburgh Steelers over this drama. Here’s ESPN’s Colin Cowherd:

“The Steelers are a shaky fit, and Aaron knows it. He doesn’t want to offend Mike Tomlin. It may be if he wants to play his best spot. But they can’t figure out offense. I’ve gone over this a million times. They’re tone deaf to offense.”

I mean how many salvos are we supposed to take? My opinion now of the Steelers is that they’ve become soft. On the field, on the sidelines, and in the front office. From the field, earlier this year Cam Heyward was asked about Aaron Rodgers’ neglect to sign with the team by saying “Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, or you don’t. It’s that simple. That’s the pitch.” I take that to mean at that time if Rodgers didn’t want to join forces, get lost. Heyward then like most cowards, backtracked with this:

“Yes, it was misconstrued. From my point of view, I was asked the question of, Would you go to the lengths of going to a darkness retreat to recruit Aaron Rodgers? I said, I’m not doing that. The pitch is: If you wanna be a Steeler, be a Steeler. It wasn’t meant that I don’t like Rodgers or I’m against it. I think when I look at our team right now, it would be really cool to have a guy like Aaron Rodgers, but I can’t be the guy who gets it over the finish line. I think he’s got to make those decision for himself.”

OTAs are already underway with the Steelers, and a mandatory minicamp is forthcoming. Then there is the start of training camp. Aaron Rodgers is the kind of person who believes he can call his own shots, show up when he wants. That people is where the coaching staff and front office have gone soft. I’m not sure previous owner Dan Rooney would have tolerated this crap and I for damn well know Chuck Noll and probably Bill Cowher would have told Rodgers to take a hike a LONG time ago. Art Rooney Sr. was also a people person and I’m confident he would NOT have liked Aaron Rodgers in any sense of the word.

The bottom line is this whole circus rides on the shoulders of the big three…Rooney II, Khan, and Tomlin. We know Rooney’s job is not at risk, but if Rodgers comes in and falls on his face or even if he plays decent and the Steelers fail to make the playoffs or get bumped in round one AGAIN, then in my opinion Khan and Tomlin must go. These three men must have blinders on, or they are that ignorant, or perhaps that arrogant. They are ignoring all the warning signs, suggestions, and concerns from everyone everywhere and just keep marching on to get Aaron Rodgers in a Steelers jersey. This sounds like desperation. 

What makes me scratch my head a little more is how Mason Rudolph is taking this in stride. He’s the only quarterback on the roster with solid NFL playing time yet he knows if Rodgers comes to town, he’s immediately a backup…AGAIN. That to me is a slap in the face. While my season predictions for the Steelers are forthcoming and I’ve already figured them for an 8-9 record, they did draft Will Howard this season. Mike Tomlin should wing it with Rudolph and work Howard into some playing time and see how well the team can do. If he can continue his long streak of winning seasons and even perhaps make the post season in that scenario he would be considered a coach of the year candidate. But if he presses on with Rodgers and the season ends badly, he will be sitting on a red-hot seat requesting his removal. 

There is talk buzzing around about trading for Kirk Cousins but that conversation is also being deemed a mistake. While Mike Tomlin has been preaching how he wants his 2025 team to be more physical, I’ll believe that when I see it. As a fan since 1972 I can tell you that teams from Steelers past had a reputation. They beat you up. The players who took the field brought with them an attitude. They were aggressive and afraid of no one. Let me just throw a few examples out at you…Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Greg Lloyd, Hines Ward, Mike Webster, Troy Polamalu, even Ryan Clark was a hard hitter.

These attitudes don’t exist anymore. There is not one player on the team that leads by example offensively or defensively. Our Steelers’ reputation of an opponent thinking about facing a physical opponent has gone by the wayside. Our image of toughness? Long gone. That starts with a head coach and our current version is soft. The trio mentioned above responsible for this situation really seems intimidated and afraid to confront Aaron Rodgers. Trust me that he is sitting at home laughing at this situation thinking to himself, “I’ve got the Steelers by the balls.” And the Steelers have allowed that.

I just can’t wrap my head around why Rooney, Khan, and Tomlin have not told Rodgers we are no longer interested…goodbye. That in itself is so frustrating and annoying. Again, as a 53-year Steelers fan, I’ve never been embarrassed by the team…until now. The Steelers are now the laughingstock of the league; we look like fools for chasing Aaron Rodgers and worse we look STUPID. In what Mark Madden said above about the possibility of the fans turning on Rodgers if he plays for us, what I envision if he does play in the home opener on September 14 against Seattle is that the fans regardless how he plays in the preseason or in the season opener would boo the hell out of him just to make him uncomfortable so he’ll walk away. Believe you me, if he gets thousands of boo birds screaming at him from the team he plays for, his ego will not allow him to continue. 



If I could say anything to Art Rooney II, Omar Khan, and Mike Tomlin, I would ask them one simple question… “What are you thinking and doing.”