The Aaron Rodgers waiting game in Pittsburgh may finally be approaching a breaking point. Almost a fortnight ago, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette floated the idea that after avoiding multiple soft deadlines, the Pittsburgh Steelers could expect a decision from Rodgers before the start of OTAs, or risk finally running out of patience. Dulac was not exactly wrong, considering Rodgers’ offseason tactics. But now, with OTAs just days away and Rodgers still unsigned, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network has reiterated that same idea while adding another layer of context to the situation.

“At some point, the patience is going to run out,” Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show. “It certainly seems like the patience for Steelers fans, just based on the feedback I get every time I talk about Aaron Rodgers, may already be running out for some people. For Art Rooney, for Mike McCarthy, who’s trying to get the team ready on the field, that patience may be tested. I don’t believe that has happened yet. If they don’t have something in place by the start of next week, I think that we’ll get there.”

That kind of reaction from Pittsburgh would be understandable at this point. But at the same time, it is also fair to point out that the Steelers willingly walked themselves into this situation because Rodgers’ handling of the offseason this way is nothing new.

Even before arriving in Pittsburgh, he skipped offseason activities with the New York Jets and famously traveled to Egypt ahead of the 2024 season. Then came the 2025 offseason when Rodgers visited the Steelers’ facility but still waited until the first week of June to officially sign his one-year contract.

And while Rodgers eventually helped lead Pittsburgh to the postseason during his first season running the offense, many expected him to retire immediately afterward. That is where McCarthy suddenly became a huge part of the story.

After all, he spent more than a decade coaching Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers, and together they won a Super Bowl. So once Pittsburgh hired McCarthy as head coach, speculation about a reunion immediately took off. But is that reunion actually guaranteed? Not even close.

Reports have consistently suggested McCarthy remains in contact with Rodgers. The problem is nobody truly knows what Rodgers is thinking right now. Meanwhile, the Steelers have quietly continued setting soft deadlines throughout the offseason, only for Rodgers to bypass every single one of them.

Take general manager Omar Khan, for example. Earlier this offseason, Khan openly suggested the Rodgers situation would not drag on the same way it did the previous year. Yet here we are again.

Then there is owner Art Rooney II, who previously said he expected clarity from Rodgers before the 2026 NFL Draft. That deadline came and went, too. Now, OTAs have essentially become the next unofficial checkpoint.

Ironically, Rodgers recently spent time in Pittsburgh but still avoided direct contact with the organization itself. Instead, communication reportedly continued through his representation.

“We’ve had communications with him and his agent,” said Khan.

For now, though, Rodgers’ final decision remains completely up in the air. And even if he signs before OTAs officially begin on May 18, there is still a strong chance he would not fully participate in activities right away. The difference is that Pittsburgh would at least finally have clarity at quarterback.

But if May 18 arrives and Rodgers still has not signed, the frustration inside the building could absolutely start becoming real.

After all, last year Rodgers officially signed just before mandatory minicamp, which marked the first time fans saw him wearing black and gold. So if not before OTAs, the expectation now shifts toward mandatory minicamp, assuming Rodgers truly plans to play one more season and reunite with McCarthy in Pittsburgh.

Skepticism surfaced around the Mike McCarthy-Aaron Rodgers reunion

There’s no surprise that speculation around a potential reunion between Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers took off the moment the Steelers hired McCarthy as head coach. But considering how their previous relationship unraveled with the Packers, the skepticism around the idea has never really disappeared.

NFL journalist Tyler Dunne recently joined 93.7 The Fan, where he reflected on a conversation with a former Packers player who believes the reunion may not play out nearly as well as it sounds on paper.

“There is a source I would probably describe him as a pro Aaron Rodgers source on that Bleacher Report story I wrote way back when,” Dunne said. “I reached out to this player again when it looked like Rodgers and McCarthy would be joining forces once again here in Pittsburgh. I asked him how it was going to go down, and at first, he said a Cinderella story and Super Bowl champs.

“I was shocked and asked if he was serious, and he said no. He was kidding around and predicted they would be at each other’s throats and fighting in no time. He saw this up close, so I am sure they will say all the right things if they do rejoin forces here.”

It’s not hard to understand why that former Packers player feels that way because the tension between Rodgers and McCarthy goes back even before Rodgers entered the NFL.

Back in 2005, McCarthy was part of the San Francisco 49ers organization when the franchise held the No. 1 overall pick. Instead of selecting Rodgers, though, the 49ers drafted Alex Smith, while Rodgers shockingly slid to No. 24 overall before Green Bay finally selected him.

Then, just one year later, McCarthy became Rodgers’ head coach in Green Bay. But according to former Packers running back Ryan Grant, Rodgers never fully got over the draft-night embarrassment.

“Aaron’s always had a chip on his shoulder with Mike,” Grant told Bleacher Report. “The guy who ended up becoming your coach passed on you when he had a chance. Aaron was upset that Mike passed on him — that Mike actually verbally said that Alex Smith was a better quarterback.”

Over time, the relationship reportedly became even more strained. According to Bleacher Report, Rodgers eventually lost respect for McCarthy because he believed the coach had a “low football IQ.”

By 2018, things had escalated further once the Packers parted ways with quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, who had developed a strong relationship with Rodgers. Around the same time, Green Bay also moved on from wide receiver Jordy Nelson, one of Rodgers’ closest teammates.

Then came December 2018. After the Packers lost 20-17 to the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay officially fired McCarthy, bringing one of the NFL’s most complicated quarterback-coach relationships to an end.

So while the idea of Rodgers and McCarthy reuniting in Pittsburgh sounds fascinating on paper, there is also a lot of history attached to it. And not all of that history is good.