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This isn’t the first time a fantasy conversation – er, I mean – has taken place about Aaron Rodgers coming to Pittsburgh to take on the role of Steelers quarterback.
Jason La Canfora pitched this idea regarding Rodgers at the end of July.
Former Bengals wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson says he heard the Steelers are sniffing out a deal to acquire Rodgers ahead of draft weekend.
ProFootballTalk linked the Steelers to Rodgers trade talks in January.
Each time this idea has been pushed into the atmosphere, I have co-signed. I never thought it was doable. But I always thought it was a wonderful idea.
Granted, I also think that winning the $ 570 million Powerball drawing, hopping on a private jet and flying to my villa in Tuscany with Jennifer Aniston (hey, she says she’s just looking for a regular guy these days. , you know) is a wonderful idea.
Rodgers coming to Pittsburgh is more realistic than that. But it’s still a long way off.
He might want to leave Green Bay after this season – frankly it looked like he wanted out before this year – but technically he’s under contract with Green Bay for $ 46 million against the 2022 salary cap.
So despite a rising league-wide salary cap and more room than normal for the Steelers, it may still mean moving mountains for Rodgers to get here, especially with the upcoming new contract with TJ. Watt and probably one for Minkah Fitzpatrick as well.
That said, as the Steelers have proven with acquisitions, restructurings and free agent retentions at the end of the summer (Ben Roethlisberger, Watt, Fitzpatrick, Joe Schobert, Joe Haden, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyson Alualu, Melvin Ingram), the cap is still manageable, and the money shell game can still be played.
Cancellable years, don’t! Throw the box on the road! Restructure again Cameron Heyward and David DeCastro!
What? Oh. Law. DeCastro is gone. Well, can they restructure Heyward twice in the same offseason ?! It allowed ?!
The point is, with Roethlisberger playing his season in all likelihood “another last time”, there is a quarterback void after 2021. To be honest, we could argue that there is. moment.
If Rodgers wants to make it happen, and the Steelers want to make it, at least it’s better than a zero chance to happen in late winter 2022.
After all, some say that with the way Rodgers ‘contract is drafted, the Packers’ most likely path would be to strike some sort of “trade and restructuring” deal with another NFL contender.
Maybe this team can be the Steelers.
John Q. Yinzer could have let that thought echo in his brain with a “million-for-one, Doc” belief last offseason when the Rodgers swap rumors first surfaced.
Well, now it can be 1 in 999,999. Especially after Rodgers joined Pat McAfee’s talk show for a regular appearance.
During that conversation, McAfee (a Plum native, former West Virginia and former NFL punter) asked Rodgers about his thoughts on the Steelers as a team, their defense in particular, and the city of Pittsburgh, in general.
There followed a two-minute soliloquy of Rodgers professing his admiration for the entire western Pennsylvania region, Mike Tomlin, TJ Watt, the history of the Steelers, our town’s “blue collar” character. and even Pittsburgh Dad and his accent.
“I have known a lot of people from Pittsburgh over the years. I loved my time with each of them. I learned to speak the language really well, ”said Rodgers. “It allowed me to follow and become a big fan of ‘Pittsburgh Dad’ on Twitter. A big ‘shaht aht’! Incredible videos.
Rodgers said hearing the accent was familiar to him from his former head coach Mike McCarthy of Greenfield.
“You enjoy videos so much because you know people who talk like that. It was most of my career with Mike in the helmet. I was trying to understand what he was saying, ”Rodgers said with a laugh.
The whole exchange can be seen here.
“I love Pittsburgh … he’s a great blue collar tahn and Mike Tomlin is a fantastic coach who knows how to lead and the players love to play for” ~@ AaronRodgers12 on the Packers game with the Steelers this Sunday#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/mvSbBkpvKV
– Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 28, 2021
Although one thing Rodgers didn’t mention was the current offensive line.
Damn it. I wonder why?
Was Rodgers intentionally praising this week’s opponent since the Steelers visited Green Bay this weekend?
Probably.
Did he flatter the host of the show who happens to be Plum’s pride?
Absoutely.
Was Rodgers subtly (or not so subtly) sending thinly veiled messages to Tomlin and Kevin Colbert through the magic of video streaming?
I want to think so. So I will say “maybe”.
I’ll take “plant the seed” for $ 200, Aaron.
Let Pittsburgh Papa negotiate the terms of the contract extension after the swap and maybe we’ll be on something.
Tim Benz is an editor for Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
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