Mike Tomlin And Steelers Are Like Everyone Else, Not Knowing What Aaron Rodgers Will Do

PALM BEACH – Mike Tomlin once famously said he wants players who are volunteers who want to play for him rather than hostages forced to play for him. Well, now the shoe is on the other foot with Tomlin and the Steelers held hostage by a protracted Rodgers decision.

Tomlin is apparently like all the rest of us in that he doesn't know exactly what Rodgers is going to do and the timing for the quarterback doing it. 

And if he does know (he doesn't) he wasn't sharing it Sunday at the NFL annual meeting. 

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 20: Russell Wilson #3 and Justin Fields #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers look on as head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets embrace after the game at Acrisure Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

Tomlin: Still Evaluating QB Position

The Pittsburgh Steelers coach, speaking to a group of reporters, gave no significant update on the team's chase of the free-agent quarterback – maybe because Tomlin wasn't in a mood to share, or more likely, because he really doesn't know.

The latter possibility should be really concerning to Steelers fans.

Tomlin actually spoke as if the Steelers were not fully committed to the Rodgers chase – despite the fact that they are.

"We're still evaluating the acquisition of a guy at the position," Tomlin told the gaggle, "whether that's in free agency and/or the draft, so we're doing our due diligence."

Whaat?

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 17: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium on November 17, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Rodgers And Tomlin Got To Know Each Other

The Steelers want Rodgers. The entire Earth knows this. It's the reason he visited the club a couple of weeks ago and spent 6-7 hours in the team facility. 

But Tomlin portrayed that as just a social visit.

"It's been reported that he spent a day with us, and it was a really good day," Tomlin said.

Tomlin said there is no timeline for Rodgers making a decision on his future despite admitting he'd like to have the issue settled.

"Not to my knowledge," he said. "I don't know that we've approached it from a deadline perspective. Certainly, as I mentioned, you'd like to have settled circumstances. But deadlines don't often bring that to a head."

Tomlin is so anti-timeline, he suggested it might be acceptable not to solidify the quarterback position, particularly with Rodgers, until the start of training camp. So the visit wasn't about pressing Rodgers for a decision.

"I really just wanted to spend more time just getting to know him better," Tomlin said.

The coach and quarterback discussed  "things that he values as a player and a man and what he might be looking for with his next stop," Tomlin said.

Aaron Rodgers talks politics. (Credit: Getty Images)

Rodgers Hasn't Told Steelers he's Coming

You know what this sounds like?

Tomlin isn't sharing because he doesn't have a ton of strong, tangible information to share. Probably because they're like everyone else, waiting on Rodgers to tell them what he's thinking. 

So, the Steelers are in the meantime positioning themselves as having options when, in truth, they really don't outside of an improbable trade for Kirk Cousins if Rodgers decides not to sign.

Tomlin mentioned the draft, but his club has the 21st selection in the draft's first round, which means the Steelers at best are going to need great insight on perhaps the third- or fourth-best available QB prospect.

That is not what the Steelers are or should be about right now. 

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Steelers In Win-Now Mode

They're a veteran team ready to win now. They are not a team that should be developing a rookie by asking him to learn as he starts. They certainly don't have time to sit a rookie for a couple of years as Cameron Heyward retires, and T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Darius Slay likely get beyond their prime.

So the Steelers aren't fooling anyone. Tomlin isn't fooling anyone.

They need Rodgers badly.

But they obviously can't say that because they're waiting on a Rodgers decision just like everybody else.

"I don't know if we are identifying anything as Plan A, Plan B, or Plan C," Tomlin insisted. "We're simply looking at the field of available people, whether it's free agency or the draft, and making decisions and gather information accordingly."