Brooke Pryor
Multiple Authors
PITTSBURGH — As many members of the Pittsburgh Steelers returned to the group’s apply facility Monday to start voluntary minicamp underneath new head coach Mike McCarthy, one man was notably not amongst them: Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, after all, has no obligation to report to the group’s offseason actions. Not solely are these actions voluntary, however Rodgers additionally stays an unsigned free agent after his one-year take care of the Steelers expired final month firstly of the league yr. Still, the quarterback was a major subject of dialog in the course of the Steelers’ information conferences Monday and Tuesday as the group continues to wait on phrase from Rodgers about his future.
And whereas group proprietor Art Rooney II mentioned on the NFL’s annual assembly three weeks in the past that he anticipated having an answer from Rodgers by the NFL draft, which begins Thursday, normal supervisor Omar Khan and McCarthy indicated this week there is not a timeline or a deadline to hear from the 42-year-old quarterback.
“We’ve had some great communication with Aaron and nothing’s changed, but it’s all been positive and good,” Khan mentioned Monday. “And I said this to you guys in March when we met: he knows how we feel about him and we know how he feels about us.”
While McCarthy mentioned the offseason actions are essential as the group builds its basis by means of scheme set up and communication, the coach, who labored with Rodgers for 13 seasons in Green Bay, mentioned he believes the quarterback is still loads aware of the whole lot occurring and downplayed the importance of Rodgers’ absence within the early classes.
“I think Aaron is probably more in tune than we would realize, but I have confidence in where he would be the day he would arrive, if that’s his decision,” McCarthy mentioned Tuesday.
With Rodgers still mulling his determination, the Steelers shifted their focus to Mason Rudolph and second-year quarterback Will Howard in the course of the first two days of voluntary minicamp.
“What I’ve learned through instituting an offseason program, there are benefits of periods where your veterans aren’t here — and we’re talking about the quarterback position,” McCarthy mentioned. “So this is a very beneficial time for Will and Mason right now. They split all the reps today and in the last two days, and that’s just great work. And when you see it improve from one day to the next, that’s what you’re looking for. … I’m comfortable where we are, and we’re giving [Rodgers] the space to make his decision.”
While Rudolph is a six-year NFL veteran, Howard is coming off a rookie yr through which he was sidelined for a lot of the season on injured reserve following a coaching camp harm to his pinky finger. McCarthy raved about Howard within the months since taking up for Mike Tomlin, and he continued to specific his pleasure with the quarterback after working with him.
“Just meeting with him in January compared to today, he’s had a really good offseason before the offseason,” McCarthy mentioned. “He’s in much better shape. I’ve been very impressed with his movement skills. We’re just two days into footwork drills, which we’ve been allowed to do the last two days, and I’ve been impressed.”
McCarthy additionally mentioned he prefers to have three quarterbacks on the roster and maybe a fourth within the constructing if they will hold one on the apply squad. The Steelers have 12 picks within the NFL draft and did important homework on the 2026 quarterback draft class. They hosted 4 quarterbacks for in-person predraft visits in Penn State’s Drew Allar, Miami’s Carson Beck, North Dakota State’s Cole Payton and Arkansas’ Taylen Green. McCarthy additionally attended Garrett Nussmeier‘s professional day at LSU and spoke with Alabama’s Ty Simpson on the NFL scouting mix.
“We speak on it as being the most important position of football,” McCarthy mentioned Monday of quarterbacks. “And I think it’s important to always try to add to it if you can, but that’s the fit.”
