More than 80 days after the official start of free agency, Aaron Rodgers is still not part of the Pittsburgh Steelers. As a free agent, he is not required to participate in any team’s preseason training program.
Even if he were a Steeler, something the team’s management is still hoping for, he would not be required to attend any part of the voluntary organized team activities (OTAs), which entered their second week on Tuesday.
Steelers’ executives view Rodgers as a “plug-and-play” quarterback capable of a smooth transition. However, by missing the opportunity to learn the offense and build chemistry with his new teammates in OTAs, and potentially in next week’s mandatory minicamp, Rodgers and the Steelers are unnecessarily increasing the pressure on a team and an offense that will already be one of the most scrutinized in the 2025 NFL season.
With no Rodgers or any other veteran quarterback on the roster, the Steelers have three quarterbacks participating in OTAs: Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and Will Howard, selected in the sixth round of the draft. General Manager Omar Khan has made it clear that the team intends to bring four quarterbacks to training camp, leaving one spot to fill.When asked if there was a point in the offseason where having an incomplete quarterback room would hinder the team’s development, coach Mike Tomlin downplayed the significance of OTAs.
In the spring, it’s about teaching and learning, and getting familiar with the players and making sure they get familiar with some of the things that we value. It’s not a time of year for us to evaluate. It’s certainly not a time of year where we’re focused on getting ready for game action.
Mike Tomlin
This feeling is different from last year, when he placed Russell Wilson in “pole position” before spring training in an effort to expedite the team’s development.
The words and actions of the veterans attending the Steelers’ OTAs over the past two weeks seem to align more with Tomlin’s vision of the 2024 offseason than the one he expressed two months ago.
It’s very important to be able to spend time together, talk about the basic concepts of the offense, so that when we get to training camp, we can talk about fundamentals and additional details.
Pat Freiermuth
The new Steelers player, Darius Slay Jr., a 13-year veteran who joined the team after playing for the Philadelphia Eagles for five seasons, missed the first OTAs session, but was in Pittsburgh the next day and emphasized the importance of attending voluntary workouts after practice.
This is where championship football begins. And with me, I just came off the Super Bowl. Everyone has to participate, and this is the kind of time that needs to be invested. I know the guys have families and things like that. I have one too, but you want to be a champion. There are some things you have to sacrifice. And this is one of the jobs.
Darius Slay Jr.
Not only is the Steelers’ quarterback room still incomplete while the team awaits Rodgers’ decision, but newly acquired wide receiver DK Metcalf, who is the Steelers’ highest-paid player with his $132 million extension, has also not been on the field during the Steelers’ first four OTAs practices. However, Metcalf was frequently present during the first two phases of the offseason, according to his teammates.
For the offensive line, OTAs are an important step to learn from each other and learn to communicate as a unit. Being one of the youngest units on the team with three rookie starters at different times in the 2024 season, the offensive line gathered at OTAs more advanced in building a good relationship than it was at this time last year.Equally important is the chemistry between the offensive line and the quarterback tasked with protecting. While offensive linemen prepare to play with multiple quarterbacks during the offseason, not having the opportunity to become familiar with the idiosyncrasies of a notoriously detail-oriented quarterback is a missed opportunity.Broderick Jones, who is moving from right tackle to left tackle this season, isn’t worried about trying to get on the same page with Rodgers in a reduced timeframe if the future Hall of Fame quarterback ultimately signs with Pittsburgh.I feel like, in general, for the offensive line play, it’s very important to have the guys next to you that you’re playing with and build that chemistry. So, that’s really what we’re working on right now, building that chemistry, because those are the guys you go out there with, the guys you communicate with. It’s just chemistry.
Zach Frazier
…It all depends on him, what kind of behavior he has when he enters and what kind of fire he has, what he has to demonstrate. So I think that’s it. If he really has something he wants to show everyone, I feel like he’ll come in and already have that in order, ready to work and meet everyone. We just have to wait and see.It’s okay because football is a game of many moving parts, so you just have to stay focused. Being here at this time is good to be with all the different quarterbacks because you get used to their cadences, their tendencies… I’ve never played with Rodgers. I don’t know what kind of person he is. So, if the situation demands it, I just have to build that relationship with him or whatever, but if not, we’ll still have to do what we do with whoever is behind.
Broderick Jones
