Ben Roethlisberger’s Strong Ultimatum to Mike Tomlin on Aaron Rodgers as Steelers Legend Expresses Major Concern

Right now, the Steelers have three QBs on their roster. After moving on from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, they headed into the NFL draft with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. With mock drafts and analysts linking Shedeur Sanders to the Steelers, they shocked everyone by picking Ohio State’s Will Howard instead. That also didn’t happen until the sixth round after the Steelers passed on Sanders on multiple junctures. So, given that their general manager, Omar Khan, has stated they intend to have 4 QBs before the start of OTAs, the window could still be open for Aaron Rodgers. However, the question is how long?

The Steelers’ future Hall of Famer QB Ben Roethlisberger has frequently expressed his thoughts on this never-ending

Aaron Rodgers saga. But now he also seems to be confused whether Rodgers wants to become a Steeler. A few days ago, Big Ben, on his Footbahlin podcast, didn’t mince his words when talking about what the Steelers should do with Rodgers. “At some point you have to say, What’s best for our team is just probably move on. And that might sound crazy because it’s Aaron Rodgers but…you start to question Does Aaron really want to play?” Right now, the only options Rodgers has are retirement or the Steelers.

Given that he is holding out for so long, the question is what he’s waiting for.

That has led to Big Ben running out of patience. He now wants the Steelers’ front office to take a hard stance that they haven’t taken yet. “They need to set a deadline because at some point, Aaron needs to start learning the offense. I mean, you know, start getting with the guys, so what is that cut-off date? I don’t know only Coach Tomlin and Mr Rooney know that,” Big Ben said on his podcast.

Well, speaking of the deadline, Steelers long-time sports writer

Mark Kaboly did talk about a deadline. He said, “May 22, but definitely before OTAs start on May 27.” This means Rodgers is still roughly three weeks away from landing in Pittsburgh. So, yet again, the question is, do the Steelers continue waiting for him? And even if he eventually does sign, will Rodgers be able to learn Arthur Smith’s offense in time? Let’s not forget he is 41 and already has one foot in retirement. Expecting him to completely dedicate himself would be too much for the Steelers.

But there’s again his veteran presence. Considering the Steelers didn’t pick someone who can come in and start right away, they don’t have an option but to wait for Rodgers.

Will Howard’s arrival in Steel City doesn’t mean Aaron Rodgers won’t sign anymore

You know, the Steelers probably had a pretty solid reason why they didn’t pick Shedeur Sanders in multiple instances. Sanders could have easily come in and started in black and white if the Steelers indeed picked him. But that would have collided directly with their plans of bringing Rodgers to Steel City. Rodgers obviously won’t like a rookie to start ahead of him. Even after his Jets debacle, he would want to command his position. That’s why the Steelers were ideally pushed to pick Will Howard instead. He might have a national championship on his resume and 4 years of FBS football, but he is still a project QB.

It was only last season that Howard finally got an opportunity to start for a program after spending four seasons at Kansas State. He did put up career-high passing yards (4,010), attempts (423), and TDs (35). His throwing mechanism still needs vast improvement. In his 50 appearances at college, Howard threw 35 interceptions. So, that’s something he might need to improve before he becomes the Steelers’ future signal caller.

And who else but Rodgers, who boasts the lowest interception thrown percentage in the whole NFL (1.4), can help Howard learn how to be clinical. Even if Rodgers does sign with the Steelers, it’s going to be one year at the very least. That one year would help the Steelers prepare Howard under Rodgers’ guidance. And launch him in 2026 once he comes of age. If at all, this plan succeeds, then the Steelers would finally find someone to fill in Ben Roethlisberger’s Hall of Fame shoes.