If this weekend’s ProFootballTalk report about Aaron Rodgers is true, then the Steelers are exactly where they should be in the process.
Granted, that is a massive “if,” but let’s start at that point.
PFT ran a story over the weekend, citing anonymous sources that “Rodgers has specific deals lined up with other teams — and those teams have trade compensation lined up with the Packers. The potential moves have been arranged, essentially, with the permission of the Packers. The destinations are believed to be exclusively in the AFC. To little surprise, the Broncos are one of them. Other viable possibilities are, we’re told, the Titans and Steelers.”
That sure appears to be a plant by Rodgers’ camp. It comes off as stoking the public interest in those three cities so that the teams there will be motivated to pony up as much dough as possible in a new contract for Rodgers and be willing to part with the trade capital necessary to acquire him.
This also could be an attempt to goose the Packers into a favorable, reworked deal to keep Rodgers in Green Bay for the rest of his career.
This source could be 100% accurate or entirely full of garbage. My guess is he’s fluffing up some small nugget of truth.
To whatever degree it is true, though, the Steelers should be doing exactly what they are said to be doing in the story. Anything else is negligence on their part.
The franchise needs a quarterback and has cap space to play with for a change. The two-time defending MVP at the position is apparently available on the trade market. The Steelers at least need to find out what the price is or make an offer that will get the Packers talking.
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If they talk and the Packers want too much or they get outbid by the Broncos or Titans, fine. Hang up the phone. But Kevin Colbert minimally has to inquire to see what the asking price is or make an initial offer to spawn dialogue.
Of course, whenever I advance this opinion, it brings out all the usual tropes from Steelers’ old-timer fans and media members who don’t want to see the Steelers pursue Rodgers, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson or any quarterback that could be had above the Mitch Trubisky-Jameis Winston-Jacoby Brissett bargain bin.
Simply because “that’s not how the Steelers do business, n’at!” Or, more specifically …
• He’ll cost too much against the salary cap!
• They’ll spend too many draft picks to acquire him!
• He’s too old!
• They need to address other needs on the team first!
• He’s an annoying, self-absorbed, anti-vaxxing drama hound!
Well, I can’t argue much against the last complaint. I’m just willing to deal with it for a four-time MVP.
In terms of what he’ll cost against the salary cap, yes, that may be the biggest sticking point. If he genuinely wants $50 million annually to stay in Green Bay, is he going to demand that much if he’s traded elsewhere? What will be acceptable terms to him on a new contract if he is approving a trade?
Because no team is going to give up the capital necessary to acquire Rogers without the assurance that he’ll stay in his new city beyond 2022.
So, yes, his contract demands are the biggest stumbling block. But the compensation to acquire him may not be. Longtime Broncos reporter Mike Klis of 9news.com said “a straight Rodgers trade would cost the Broncos nothing less (than) their No. 9 overall pick in the first round, No. 40 pick in the second round, and next year’s first-round selection.”
The Steelers would have to do a little better than that since they pick later (No. 20) in this year’s draft. But if that’s the framework, is dealing two No. 1 picks and a second-rounder for Rodgers all that much?
Especially since this is the same city that justified the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade by saying Fitzpatrick “counted” as a No. 1 pick when he was acquired from Miami. Does Rodgers “count” the same way? Or are we moving the goalposts simply because the idea of the Steelers swinging big for a quarterback makes our tummies feel uneasy?
I know, I know. Fitzpatrick was 23. Rodgers is 38. The analogy isn’t apples-to-apples. But Rodgers is a quarterback, so such a move is even more justifiable.
For the “he’s too old” crowd, NFL clubs get a first-round pick for five years (if you want to exercise the fifth-year option). The Broncos got four years out of Peyton Manning after he was acquired at 36 following neck surgery. He was second in the MVP balloting that year, won it the next year, and went to two Super Bowls, winning one.
Rodgers moves 10 times better than Manning did, and he just won MVPs at 37 and 38.
Would you enjoy four years like that from Rodgers? Or the potential for four years of what the Steelers have gotten from other recent first-rounders such as Artie Burns, Devin Bush and Terrell Edmunds? Five of the last eight Steelers first-round picks never made a Pro Bowl.
In terms of addressing other needs first, indeed, the Steelers have many. Without Rodgers, how many needs do you think the Packers have? That was a 13-win team with Rodgers. They’ll struggle to win six or seven without him.
When Manning went to Denver, the Broncos were 8-8 the year before. When Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers had just gone 7-9. Last year’s Steelers were 9-7-1. The 2020 Los Angeles Rams were 10-6. They gave up two first-round picks, their own starting quarterback (Jared Goff) and a third-rounder to get Matthew Stafford.
How did that work out?
Look, this whole conversation can be rendered moot in your own head if you decide the report is bogus. You may not be wrong for doing so.
However, if there is even a sliver of truth to it, then the Steelers are doing exactly as they should by opening a conversation with Green Bay and Rodgers himself.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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