The Pittsburgh Steelers’ pursuit of quarterback Aaron Rodgers lasted three months and took various turns, from “The Pat McAfee Show” to “The Joe Rogan Experience” and a country club the passer hadn’t joined.
After officially signing on Saturday, the Rodgers saga quickly returned to another golf course, where defensive end Cam Heyward’s “Irons for Impact” outing was underway.
Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback made a public appearance, and he wasn’t alone.
Photos of new Steelers stars Rodgers and DK Metcalf emerged on Monday, sending fans into an optimistic frenzy.
Metcalf, whom Pittsburgh traded a second-round pick for in March, worked out with Rodgers during the offseason, setting off another news cycle worth of rumors. Even so, it still took the quarterback weeks to make his decision. He did so just in time for training camp.
Heyward seems happy to have the upgrade under center, although he wasn’t going to beg for Rodgers to come to Western Pennsylvania.
“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,’ ” Heyward said on “Good Morning Football” in March. “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 decisions for himself.”
With Rodgers and Metcalf in the building, the Steelers’ offense should be more consistent than in 2024. Russell Wilson exceeded expectations but struggled down the stretch, a victim of his own volatility. Receiver George Pickens, who Pittsburgh traded after the NFL Draft, fills the same role as Metcalf, but came with his own baggage.
Finally, the pieces of the offensive puzzle have been put together. The Steelers are flawed, sure. But they are better now than they were in the days after the draft, and chemistry will soon begin to grow.
As Heyward noted earlier in the offseason, the goal in Pittsburgh is straightforward. Rodgers takes them a step closer to accomplishing it.
“I would just say, you know, if you come to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the goal is to win. You know, we haven’t had the success we want, but the goal is still in mind to raise a Lombardi and bring that seventh one to Pittsburgh. We don’t really care about the glitz and glam of New York, but the focus is on good hard football, competing every day, challenging each other, trying to go from there.”
