Steelers are repeating mistakes - Chris Canty on Pitt. place seldom-used UFA tender on Aaron Rodgers

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:00]I'm Courtney Cronin in for Kanye today.

[00:00:01]Evan Cohen with you. NBA playoffs as you heard last night on ESPN radio. Catch postseason action on ESPN radio and the ESPN app presented by Gusto. Okay, so yesterday Adam Shfter reported something that I got to be honest, I pride myself, as Smalls knows very well on all the transactional stuff. I love following the transactional stuff in sports.

[00:00:22]>> And when Sher reported something yesterday, I sat back and I said, I don't know what that is. He reported that the Steelers placed the seldomused unrestricted free agent tender on Aaron Rodgers. I'm like, "What the heck is that?" The UFA tender, I'm reading from the the ESPN.com story, preserves the Steelers right to receive a compensatory pick in the event that Rogers signs with another team, which we're going to get to in about 10 minutes. The other team part of this um while also limiting his ability to sign with another team once training camp begins. The Steelers will have exclusive negotiating rights for Rogers if he does not sign with another team by July 22nd or the first day of Pittsburgh's training camp, whichever is late later. Another condition of the tender is that Rogers can also accept a 10% raise off of last year's salary, which would pay him about $15 million this season. Courtney Cronin, you cover the NFL as your day job. Explain, please.

[00:01:24]Nothing changes for Aaron Rodgers in the short term with any of this. Like I think that all signs still point to him being the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. We haven't heard anything to the contrary. We know that Mike McCarthy isn't going to vouch for a player that he believes has a declining skill set, somebody that can't be a part of his offense this year when he's taking over the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching job. But it's a weird thing that this can happen for one player on a roster that or one player who's a free agent. You're allowed to do this with guys that were on your roster that become, you know, unrestricted free agents. It just doesn't happen all that often and we rarely see this happen with the quarterback position. This is an insurance policy that the Steelers are enacting here if Aaron Rodgers chooses not to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because remember, this was supposed to be different this year. It was supposed to be that he didn't drag this thing out that by the draft they thought they were going to have his decision.

[00:02:20]>> That hasn't happened. We're a week past that now mini camp will be in June and that's mandatory. But this is their way of making sure that they leave with something if he doesn't end up signing with them which ultimately I don't think we get to that point. But this is the Pittsburgh Steelers way of I guess kind of poking him a little bit to be like come on let's get something going here already. I just wonder if Rogers is still going to be using the line of there's no contract in front of me.

[00:02:49]>> Oh, now there is. Right.

[00:02:50]>> But yes, like this is kind of their way when he says that when he's like there's no contract in front of me. Well, now there is something there is something that can be signed in order to get you under contract. I don't know why there needs to be this sort of coaxing. It feels like a passive aggressive move in a lot of respects. But since he there's since there's been no action on his part and the Steelers very clearly are tired of waiting. Not that this changes much in the short term, I feel like this is their way of trying to expedite the process that should have long been decided by this point.

[00:03:21]>> Could not agree more. I know that this has been described as procedural >> and that the Steelers still are saying that they remain confident that Aaron Rogers ultimately is going to be there and be their quarterback for this season. But the fact that we had the draft in Pittsburgh and that the draft has come and gone and now they have to go about it this way and poke him in this way. What are what are they doing?

[00:03:45]Waiting around for him again after, as Courtney just pointed out, Omar Khan and company said, "Oh, it's going to be different this year. We're not going to have to wait around. The timeline is not going to be as long as it was last year." It really doesn't seem like a lot has changed. I know we still have a while to get to certain organized team activities for him to make the choice or make it uh as pronounced as it was last year, but I just don't understand why they are going down this road again.

[00:04:16]>> It's a very fair question, >> especially because >> what is your answer to that question?

[00:04:20]>> But especially because you're ushering a new era with Mike McCarthy as the head coach, but it feels like you're kind of stuck in the same position as you were last year. It doesn't feel like a new era of Pittsburgh Steelers football if you're going down the same road as you did last year waiting for a quarterback in his 40s to decide whether or not he wants to play football for you.

[00:04:40]>> So answer your own question. Why are they why are they doing this?

[00:04:43]>> Because he's their best option right now. But they put themselves in this position.

[00:04:46]>> I also think that there this is this might be a wild card because I think the three of us have been in agreement on this for a long time that he is going to end up with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[00:04:55]There's been no other team that's been rumored to be serious contender for Aaron Rogers. But since what Evan read there at the beginning laying this whole thing out, up until July 22nd or when the Pittsburgh Steelers start training camp, whichever comes first, other teams can sign him. Like they put the tender on him, it's the exclusive tender, so they get first right or refusal. But what if there's a contender out there that gets some sort of quarterback news over the summer, over the next >> 3 months that they keep the door open, hey Aaron Rogers, we know that this that the Steelers place this this tender on you, but we can still make this work if you want to come here. They have the right of first refusal. But it it does I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Steelers think that he may be considering that option even though I think in if you ask them honestly they still expect him to be in the building in the not too distant future and be part of the team. But I think that you have to as an insurance policy here protect yourself in all of this because if that does happen they get a compensatory pick next year if he chooses to sign somewhere else. So, it's it's a way of protecting yourself and protecting your assets. Your quarterback room doesn't look great in the in the short term if that happens. But at least they leave with something if that ends up playing out that way, which again I think is a very small percentage chance of happening, but it protects them if it does.

[00:06:21]>> So, an unexpected situation at the quarterback position that you didn't see coming with a contender that Rogers hypothetically could join and the Steelers would get something out of that. Do we actually have an answer to who that team could be? We will find out coming up after I tell you about something that CC's absence on the final day of the NFL draft to attend counseling. The New England Patriots are eager to move forward. Varbable previously addressed his team in the wake of multiple media outlets posting photos of him and former athletic reporter Diana Rousini. But Tuesday was the first time players were asked about the situation and its subsequent fallout. Two Patriots captains, Hunter Henry and Robert Spain, spoke earlier.

[00:07:04]you know, I thought he did a great job.

[00:07:06]Um, you know, it's been the same Braves bringing a lot of energy in the room.

[00:07:10]Um, so yeah, I mean, obviously he addressed it and uh, you know, that's that's kind of all I'll say about it.

[00:07:15]>> Coach um, coaches football and he keeps um, the main thing, the main thing. So, I know he's dealing with personal issues, but when we're in the building, we we speak football. That's not for me to speak on. Uh I I love coach and I'm going to be here to support him and as he would be there to support me through anything. So uh I'm just a player and I'm I'm trying to uh do that as best as I can.

[00:07:40]>> Spain went on to say that they're really focused on the brand new team within their locker room. Mike Vrabel is not scheduled to speak to the media again until OTAAS at the end of May in the NFL, but the Steelers are apparently exercising that option with Aaron Rogers. So, it's a UFA tender and it's essentially preserve it preserves Pittsburgh's exclusive negotiating rights for the 42-year-old quarterback.

[00:08:01]They'll have first right of refusal and it offers a 10% raise to Rogers off of last year's salary. In other seemingly unprecedented news, Diego Pavio went from undrafted to a three-year deal with the Ravens. Baltimore's rookie mini camp starts this weekend, but they inked the former Heidisman finalist. The signing completes a fourman quarterback room with Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, and former Yukon signal caller Joe Fen.