NFL Insider Lays Out Logical Timeline for Aaron Rodgers to Sign With Steelers

Mandatory minicamp starts June 10.
Then-New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on December 22, 2024.
Then-New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on December 22, 2024. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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When it comes to Aaron Rodgers, it's hard to predict anything with confidence. The man is a true enigma, as his aptly-titled Netflix special would have you believe, and does things his own way, on his own timeline. Case in point: his long, drawn-out fling with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which, in the QB's defense, is purportedly due to some serious personal issues (not just because he likes watching us all squirm).

But with the team just one week out from mandatory minicamp, before which you would think they'd like to have a publicly committed QB on their roster, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport has shared why he thinks Rodgers could end up signing with the team right before or during said camp beginning June 10.

"This time next week, when the Steelers are in mandatory minicamp, maybe it changes," Rapoport said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show. "That might be interesting. That would be a time when it would make sense for him to go in, sign if he's gonna sign, get his playbook, go home for the summer. ... That's my thought, and that makes the most sense, but it is Aaron Rodgers so I would literally rule nothing out."

For what it's worth, such a prediction is in line with that of Ian O'Connor, the man who wrote a biography on Rodgers published last year. Speaking on 93.7 The Fan last month, O'Connor said he believes Rodgers has privately agreed to play for the Steelers but asked to keep the deal quiet until minicamp, just in case he cannot attend. Such an approach would avoid the same kind of media onslaught that ensued when the quarterback missed minicamp with the New York Jets last summer.

Indeed, at this point, it seems more likely than not that Rodgers will be in Black and Gold come the fall. Yes, there is still uncertainty, as Rapoport noted, but lots of signs are pointing in that direction.

June 10 can't come soon enough.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.