After months of rumors, speculation, and plenty of debate from NFL legends and analysts, it’s official: the Steelers have signed Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal. But let’s be real—it’s Mike Tomlin who played a key role in this potential deal. “Steelers HC Mike Tomlin loomed large in this entire situation. Tomlin was a drawing card for Rodgers, and was happy to work within Rodgers’ timeline. He is a major reason that Rodgers will be a Steeler,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted when the news officially became official.

Safe to say the longest-tenured head coach in the Steelers’ history is surely hoping to end their postseason drought, and so are the players. Right after the Steelers-Rodgers signing hit the headlines, Pittsburgh’s tight end, Pat Freiermuth, made his expectations clear from Rodgers. “He’s going to help us win,” the 26-year-old TE recently said.

He went on, “He’s obviously a Hall of Fame quarterback for a reason. I’ve been watching some film on him. He’s still got some arm strength and he’s still an unbelievable quarterback. Excited to get working with him finally.” Freiermuth is entering the fifth year of his career with the Steelers and has been a cornerstone of the team’s receiving corps ever since his debut.

Given the fact that the tight end made his NFL debut in the 2021 season, the last season of Ben Roethlisberger, it’s safe to say that Freiermuth has caught passes from a bunch of quarterbacks in just four years of his career. Last year, it was Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Sure, their season didn’t turn out the way it started, and they’ve lost another playoff game.

But with the arrival of Rodgers in Pittsburgh, the TEs’ hopes for a winning season, maybe a Super Bowl, definitely make sense. “I was excited. I kinda figured from a while ago that he probably would’ve came,” Freiermuth added. “Talked with him a little bit. Kinda got that feeling that he was going to eventually sign with us.”

“Obviously, he said he had some stuff going on in his personal life. So, wasn’t putting any pressure on it. Excited he’s finally part of the team and we can put all the ‘if he’s coming or not’ to the side and really focus on winning this year.” Mike Tomlin and Co. started considering Rodgers after parting ways with their last season’s starting quarterbacks. On the flip side, the 41-year-old quarterback was coming from a brief and underwhelming stint with the Jets.

Rodgers was looking for a new home to wrap up his NFL career with a flourish, and Tomlin was looking to end his postseason drought. The result? Months after his visit to the Steelers’ facility in March, Aaron Rodgers is finally now in Pittsburgh. How well will their season turn out? It’s too early to say. But amidst this, the reports are suggesting that Rodgers wasn’t the Steelers’ first choice.

Aaron Rodgers was the third choice of the Steelers

“Officially official.” The Steelers shared the news on their social media handles with a picture of Aaron Rodgers signing a one-year deal. After announcing that he’ll fly to Pittsburgh, Rodgers signed his one-year $13.65 million contract, which includes $10 million guaranteed and can be worth up to $19.5 million with incentives. That definitely sounds like a fair deal, right?

But the thing is, Rodgers was actually not the first choice of Mike Tomlin and Co. It was Matthew Stafford, instead. Yep, you read that right. Stafford wasn’t supposed to be the center of attention when it comes to trade talks, but somehow, the Rams QB found himself there. The rumor mill was buzzing that the Rams are seeking a trade for their Super Bowl-winning QB.

Stafford was seeking a $50 million deal, and a bunch of teams are interested in acquiring the veteran quarterback. And according to Adam Schefter, the Steelers were one of them. But eventually, things didn’t go their way, given that Stafford agreed on terms with the Rams and is set to continue leading the team’s offense for one or may a couple of years more.

But when Stafford went out of the picture, I don’t think it was Rodgers next in line. Nope. In fact, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and Schefter believe that Pittsburgh went behind Fields again, to re-sign him as their QB1. But then the Jets released Rodgers, Fields signed with them, and just like that, Aaron Rodgers became the hottest topic in free agency. And the rest is history.