Tim Benz: There's 1 clear benefit to Aaron Rodgers' prolonged decision process

Steelers owner Art Rooney II provided an update on how long his franchise will wait for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to decide if he wants to join the 2025 roster in Pittsburgh.

“Not forever, but a little while longer,” Rooney told reporters in Florida Tuesday afternoon.

Gee, Art, I’m sure that’ll force a decision out of Rodgers. Way to put a foot down.

To be fair, though, maybe Rooney doesn’t want to force a decision out of Rodgers at all.

He might feel that squeezing an answer out of the mercurial Rodgers will be counterproductive. Perhaps the team is at the point now where it’s Rodgers-or-bust, and Rooney sees drawing a deadline as simply pushing Rodgers away.

Plus, at this point, what’s the difference? Nothing is going to happen between now and the draft on April 24. Furthermore, if the Steelers aren’t planning on selecting a quarterback even without Rodgers — which is still a distinct possibility — then there isn’t even a rush until May.

Head coach Mike Tomlin even downplayed that extended timeline earlier in the week.

“In the spring, it’s about teaching and learning and getting familiar with players and making sure they get familiar with some of the things that we value,” Tomlin said. “It’s not an evaluation time of the year for us. It’s certainly not a time of year when we’re focused on readying ourselves for the game action. Training camp would kind of be a line of demarcation.”

In fact, there might be a benefit to this process dragging out as long as it has for the Steelers.

Let’s be honest. When the notion of Rodgers taking over as the Steelers’ starting quarterback first emerged as a possibility in early March, it wasn’t exactly well received.

Back on March 14, I ran a web poll where a vast majority of respondents preferred the idea of recently reacquired Mason Rudolph becoming the Steelers starter for this season.

What is your preference at this point for the #Steelers at QB to open 2025?

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) March 14, 2025

Whether it’s Rodgers’ declining play, his age, his price tag, his personality, his politics or all of the above, Pittsburgh was far from fully embracing Rodgers as the new QB in town.

Since then, though, a lot of the other options are gone. Russell Wilson went to the New York Giants. Justin Fields went to the New York Jets. Matthew Stafford didn’t move. Sam Darnold jumped to Seattle. And nothing came of that Trevor Lawrence story.

Also, reality seems to have crept in about what a full year of Rudolph as the starter may look like and how unlikely it is that the Steelers will be able to draft a deserving first-round pick at the end of April.

Over this extended amount of time, the concept of Rodgers becoming the Steelers’ starter is getting normalized. People are getting used to the idea. The conversation has been so drawn out that we’re speaking it into existence, and it is starting to feel like a fait accompli.

Even for Steelers fans who don’t want Rodgers on board, the discussion about his potential signing has been so pervasive we’re enduring acceptance through saturation.

Consider this web poll I ran on Tuesday. Forty-three percent of people who responded said that they feel better about Rodgers being the starter here than they did three weeks ago.

Are you warming up to the idea of Aaron Rodgers being a Steeler? Do you feel better about it than you did, say, three weeks ago

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) April 1, 2025

If you read the replies, many people who voted “No” claim that they did so only because they’ve been on board with Rodgers since the beginning. As a result, their opinion hasn’t needed to change.

Rodgers as “QB 1” in Pittsburgh is a growing reality that is becoming naturalized for the city. We’re getting used to the idea. We’re warming to it if for no other reason than our bodies are acclimating to the climate.

“Didn’t envision taking this long, no,” Rooney admitted.

Same, Art. Same. You’re preaching to the choir there.

However, this is the same choir that’ll still sing “Renegade” at the top of its lungs even if the club is losing 40-0 in the fourth quarter.

And it’s the same one that’ll start singing Rodgers’ praises in full throat by the time the first preseason game is played in August.

It’s just gonna take a little longer to learn the lyrics.

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