NFL Insider Tom Pelissero: Why Steelers are Willing to Wait on Aaron Rodgers

NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero joined The Rich Eisen Show with the latest on the Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers stalemate, and his read is essentially the same as it was the week before. Procedural move. No real signal. But also, real uncertainty.

The Steelers used a UFA tender on Rodgers earlier in the week, a one-year offer worth 110 percent of his last salary, roughly $15.6 million. Pelissero said Steelers president Art Rooney II told NFL Network's Insiders the night before that the move was strictly procedural. Pittsburgh gave Rodgers and his agent a heads-up that the tender was coming.

The purpose, Pelissero explained, is protection. If Rodgers signs elsewhere before July 22nd, the tender ensures Pittsburgh gets compensatory pick consideration. For a contract in the range Rodgers is likely to sign, that probably means a fourth or fifth round comp pick. Not nothing.

"Nobody believes that's the direction this is going," Pelissero said. "You can have injuries happen someplace else that change the dynamics. They're just protecting themselves."

The date Pelissero keeps circling is May 18th, the start of OTAs. Rooney said an answer would come in the next several weeks. Pittsburgh would prefer to know before OTAs so Rodgers can get more time on task with teammates.

The UFA tender itself is not unusual, Pelissero noted. He's seen it twice in the last year. It surfaces occasionally for veteran free agents who haven't signed by this stage of the calendar.

On substance, Pelissero said Rodgers has talked with the Steelers regularly, including since the draft. Pittsburgh's draft moves, he said, weren't necessarily designed for Rodgers. But if you asked what Rodgers tends to value, the list would look familiar. A tackle. A guard who plays mean. A big slot receiver. Pittsburgh checked all three boxes.

"If I'm leaning at this point, I am still leaning toward Aaron Rodgers is on board," Pelissero said. "He's on the field, not just in minicamp, but in OTAs at some point."

Rich pressed the obvious question. Why use a tender at all unless there's uncertainty? Pelissero agreed. There is uncertainty. He pushed back hard on the conspiracy theories that this is all media theater.

"Rodgers likes messing with the media," Pelissero said, summarizing the noise. "This is all they already agreed. They know when he's coming. They don't."

Rodgers has not told the Steelers he's signing. He has talked with them regularly about scheme and roster, which suggests intent to play. But the actual call has not been made.

Rich noted Rodgers had implied on Pat McAfee's show that he had no contract in front of him. Pelissero corrected the framing. The UFA tender is now the baseline. Rodgers knows the floor.

The McAfee detail Pelissero added is that this sequencing is similar to last year's negotiations. The communication channels look the same. Different cast. Mike McCarthy is now the head coach instead of Mike Tomlin, but McCarthy and Rodgers have logged hours of calls about football, life, and what the offense would look like.

Rodgers is 42. He has played more snaps than nearly anyone in NFL history. He has to make the call. The Steelers, Pelissero made clear, want him back. They are willing to wait.