NFL insider Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports recently suggested that one reason quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t officially re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers is that general manager Omar Khan and others associated with the franchise may view Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals or Malik Willis of the Green Bay Packers as a potential upgrade over the 42-year-old.
During the latest edition of the “Kaboly + Mack” program, Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly of “The Pat McAfee Show” touched upon the Rodgers saga that will seemingly drag on into March.
Is Aaron Rodgers waiting for the Steelers to upgrade their roster?
“Is he waiting to see what’s happening in free agency, or free agency and/or acquiring a wide receiver of note?” Kaboly said about Rodgers, per Jeremy Pike of Steelers Depot. “Maybe he’s like, ‘Okay, I’m interested. Let’s see what you can add for me first. You going to bring back [running back Kenneth Gainwell]? You going to get me a stud No. 2 receiver?'”
Interestingly, Kaboly shared this take on the same day that a rumor linked the Steelers with Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who became the subject of trade rumors before the ongoing NFL scouting combine got underway.
Additionally, numerous members of the football community have said throughout the winter that Rodgers could reject the Steelers and instead sign with a Minnesota Vikings side that has stud receiver Justin Jefferson as its No. 1 target.
NFL people not buying the Steelers’ love for Will Howard?
Meanwhile, Khan raised some eyebrows when he said during the combine that he wouldn’t view Rodgers retiring this winter or spring “as a worst-case scenario,” in part because the Steelers have 2025 sixth-round draft pick Will Howard on the roster. During a Thursday appearance on Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk addressed what people around the league think about the Steelers’ supposed belief in Howard.
“I know people around the league who have been skeptical of this claim that they really want Will Howard, and that (recently hired head coach) Mike McCarthy really likes Will Howard,” Florio explained, per Jake Brockhoff of Steelers Depot. “That would be a hell of a coincidence if it just so happened that Mike McCarthy gets a job that has a quarterback that he secretly loves, who was a sixth-round pick, who he thinks is gonna develop into the next Dak Prescott. And again, there’s always gonna be the potential for an element of BS in this game.”
Howard entered the league as a developmental project and then took no meaningful in-game snaps as a rookie. Thus, it makes sense that Khan and McCarthy would want Howard to spend another season learning while Rodgers starts games.
