The moment that Steelers Nation had been dreading became real last week. Aaron Rodgers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Aaron Rodgers missed OTAs but will attend mini-camp tomorrow.
He’ll meet the press after practice and it is this scribe’s hope that someone asks him the only remaining relevant question: “Do you still love football?”
- Full disclosure: Credit for this idea goes to someone else.
Retired Steelers scout Mark Gorscak posed this question rhetorically on the Steel City Insider podcast right before 2025 NFL Draft. Since then, a lot’s been said about Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
Devin Bush sacks Aaron Rodgers on 3rd down. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com
Very little has been done, save for the fact that Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin declined to reach for a quarterback in what is regarded as a historically weak quarterback class. (Quick aside: Gorscak also reminded listeners that “right now every NFL team is lying their asses off.” Self-styled draft experts who drank the Shedeur Sanders Kool Aid learned this the hard way.)
- Now Gorsack’s question is the only that’s important.
Of course, age and/or injury could conspire to rob Rodgers of his remaining ability, but that’s both a known risk and also one that’s out of everyone’s control.
The answer to the question of whether Rodgers still loves the game, however carries critical importance. In the NFL true love for football carries equal importance as ability does.
Do you doubt that? Well, then just think back to the final drive of Super Bowl XLIII.
Yes, Ben Roethlisberger certainly needed Hall of Fame talent to execute one of the best game-winning drives in Super Bowl history. But passion powered his talent. To see for yourself go back and watch Roethlisberger’s reaction as he watches Kurt Warner’s hook up with Larry Fitzgerald.
Roethlisberger didn’t simply accept the fact that he had re-claim a lead his team had held for 57 minutes and 23 seconds of a Super Bowl — he embraced it because he thrived for those moments — and that’s founded on love for football.
The question of whether Aaron Rodgers can still muster that passion for the game is a legitimate one. He’s been a free agent since March. He’s clearly not doing it for the money. He could have put pen to paper at any moment. Yet, he waited until after OTAs had finished.
- Does that mean that Aaron Rodgers no longer loves football?
When OTAs started and Rodgers was absent, Jeremy Hritz seemed to speak for much of Steelers Nation with this comment on the Steel City Insider message board:
Rogers future Hall of Famer absolutely but would rather have a teamer. You would think he’d be excited about the season and working with his new team. How could anyone be excited about his addition to the Steelers. Obviously his heart and desire is fading. Just an observation!
That’s the quick and easy conclusion to draw based on the fact that Rodgers conveniently timed his contract signing to miss the drudgery of OTAs. And, as an avowed Rodger’s skeptic, I fear that Hritz might be right.
- But life has taught me that maybe Rodgers deserves the benefit of the doubt.
He’s said publicly and privately that someone close to him has been weathering some challenging times. And if that’s the case then maybe we should cut him a little slack. If you’re not sold on this, let me bring up the story of my friend of the late, great Steelers scribe Ivan Cole.
I had a chance to speak with Ivan shortly before he passed but failed to take advantage. No, I didn’t realize his condition was life-threatening, but that proves the point: People should take precedence over the proverbial “work to do and bills to pay.”
So let’s give Aaron Rodgers the benefit of that doubt on the timing of his contract signing.
But even as we extend him that benefit of the doubt, reporters should still ask him, “Do you still love football?”
Because his answer very well may determine the success or failure of his time in Pittsburgh.
