From the moment caught on camera in the 2nd quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers game when Mike Tomlin shared a wink and a nod with Aaron Rodgers, the thoughts of the Packer finishing his career out in Pittsburgh raced through SteelerNation, and after his comments on the Pat McAfee Show, those thoughts continued to be voiced on social media.
It started when Rodgers tried to catch the Steelers off guard while making substitutions and Tomlin called a timeout when the two exchanged glances. The announcers made sure it was noticed, but Rodgers has not been silent on his high opinion of the Steelers head coach, the organization and the city itself.
As a guest on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers made the following comments:
"I've been around a lot of Pittsburgh people over the years and I've loved my time with all of them. I've learned to speak the language really well, which has allowed me to follow and become a big fan of Pittsburgh Dad.""It's a great blue-collar town. A lot of great people that live there. It's got great history, that city. Mike Tomlin has been there forever. I have a ton of respect for Mike. I think he's a fantastic coach. I love the way that he leads. I love the way that he talks after games. He always seems to keep things really even-keel. It looks like he's someone the players really love playing for."
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Given the lackluster performance of Ben Roethlisberger thus far in 2021, it seems that the future Hall of Fame quarterback is certainly in his final campaign. He's broken the 400 TD threshold, passed Dan Marino for #6 All-Time on the NFL yardage list and is poised to pass Philip Rivers to secure 5th All-Time for quite a while.
Tomlin has been supportive of Roethlisberger and responded to the question if Big Ben is the best QB for the Steelers offense in his weekly press conference:
"Absolutely. What he does and what he's done makes me really comfortable in saying that."
However, the 39-year-old QB who made a career out of making big plays based on his once-in-a-lifetime athleticism more than his cerebral play is finding life difficult behind an underwhelming offensive line. Already suffering from a pectoral injury, Tomlin confirmed Roethlisberger has "hip issues." The Steelers organization has prioritized Roethlisberger for the majority of his career, showing a loyalty few players experience with other organizations. Unfortunately, Roethlisberger is trending to the worst season he's had since recovering from nearly dying from a motorcycle accident in 2006. At any rate, it appears more likely that his competitiveness for the elusive 3rd ring will yield to his retirement season.
Rodgers has not had anything close to the relationship with the Packers that Ben has experienced with the Steelers and it's clear he is unhappy with the direction of the Green Bay franchise. If he were to be looking at pulling a Tom Brady and find a team that could catapult him right back into that of a contender - Rodgers could be looking at a great fit in Pittsburgh. He would experience a better relationship with the team and management than he has through his career and the Steelers are a destination that makes sense.
Despite the 1-3 start, the Steelers are closer to winning than most will admit. They have been besieged by injury to the defense that has diminished their room for error and much of Roethlisberger's struggles are largely in part due to an offensive line featuring three players in their first year of starting, including two rookies. It's possible the unit can jell by the end of the season and will certainly have the benefit of experience in 2022.
The Steelers have some other high bargaining chips as well:
- They are projected to be in the top 10 in available cap space in 2022, which would leave room to sign Rodgers as well as add some free agents - almost certainly addressing the offensive line.
- They are trending to be in position for the highest draft pick they have had since taking Roethlisberger #11 in 2004, giving them access to a potential immediate impact player in both first and second rounds.
- The Steelers are loaded at the skill position with WRs - imagine what he could do with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, not to mention the exceptional talent of running back Najee Harris.
- The defense is elite with T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward and Devin Bush.
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Despite signing a new deal in July, it hasn't prevented speculation from building as it certainly has a very large "out" and no guarantee of Rodgers' 2022 return. Rodgers turned down a contract that would have made him the highest paid player in the NFL, but the re-worked contract leaves room to set up for a potential trade and contract restructure with another team. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has stated the organization will not trade Rodgers and Rodgers himself has downplayed the notion of angling for a trade to the Steelers, but both of these comments are to be expected - and likely reevaluated by both parties - after the season.
Overthecap.com has forecast that the 2022 cap will be approximately $208M. With the Packers committed to $275M combined with Rodgers' cap number of $46.1M in 2022, it is untenable that Green Bay can remain compliant with the salary cap without an extension or trade. Spotrac.com reports $26M in dead cap on Rodgers "out" but the team can save over $19M with a trade.
While it would take maneuvering, the door is certainly open for a 2022 exit and Rodgers seems to be holding the cards on what his future will be. Given the the mutual discord between the front office and player and with Jordan Love waiting in the wings as the heir apparent, could Rodgers make a 2nd run at a Super Bowl late in their career with a new team in the same style that Brady and Peyton Manning did? Only this time, it would be by donning a black and gold and potentially "un-retiring" the #12?
Thoughts or comments on Rodgers to the Steelers rumors in 2022? Leave them below!
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