Despite Art Rooney II having a soft corner for Russell Wilson, ever since hitting his free agency, the Steelers were never going to re-sign Russell Wilson after what happened during the 2024 season. Poor form is one thing, but when things went sour between the veteran QB and Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Wilson’s exit was quite evident. Now when the 36-year-old has signed with the NY Giants, Tomlin does not even have any other option but to get Rodgers on priority. And if the latest reports are any indication, Tomlin’s Steelers also seem to have secured their next quarterback.

On March 25, putting an end to all speculations, Wilson is finally going to Gotham on a one-year, $10.5 million deal that could go up to $21 million with incentives. Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafol of NFL Network confirmed. This also means, just like the Steelers, Rodgers is also running out of options, who made himself available for Gotham. Now, with Wilson and Justin Fileds both gone, does Tomlin have any other option than betting on a 41-year-old quarterback?

The reasons are still unknown, but it’s the Steelers who are playing the waiting game with Rodgers when they have no option left in the free market. Former NFL star and FS1 analyst Emanuel Acho warned Tomlin and the Steel City, saying, “The Steelers are making a monumental mistake waiting on Rodgers. He’s a band-aid on a situation that needs constructive surgery.” But it seems like the deal is already in place, just waiting for the perfect time to announce it, perhaps.

Just two days back, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talks reported the Steelers have almost locked Aaron Rodgers, and if not for a few details, the deal is mostly done. “The ‘when’ remains to be seen. The ‘if’ is slowly becoming more clear. As one source in the general vicinity of those who would be in position to know said Sunday, it’s a ‘safe bet’ that quarterback Aaron Rodgers eventually will sign with the Steelers.” Ever since the free agency kicked off, the rumors linked the four-time MVP QB to the Steelers.

Of course, the Minnesota Vikings did make a cameo in this quarterback conundrum, but after head coach Kevin O’Connell decided to stick with their second-year QB, J.J. McCarthy, it became pretty certain that Rodgers would sign with the Steelers. On top of that, the 41-year-old QB visited the Steelers facility last week.

Now, if reports are to be believed, the guy had a six-hour-long “Positive” meeting with the team’s head coach, Mike Tomlin, and the offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. And that’s where things got pretty interesting. You see, the meeting primarily focused on if Rodgers would be a right fit for the Steelers’ culture rather than negotiating a contract for the QB.

That said, the whole Rodgers-Steelers thing is still just speculation at this point—no official word from either side, no deal locked in, just a whole lot of buzz and guesswork. The kicker? Well, Mike Florio believes that a big announcement is already on the cards. In fact, Florio even suggested that the announcement could potentially be made during Pat McAfee’s Big Night AHT in Pittsburgh on April 9 at PPG Paints Arena.

Safe to say, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are finally trying to put an end to this months-long QB circus—after scouting a bunch of quarterbacks and pushing Russell Wilson to the side.

Russell Wilson was never the first choice of the Steelers

This offseason has been straight-up chaos for the Steelers. On one hand, Russell Wilson wanted to stick around. On the other hand, Pittsburgh made it clear they were choosing between him and Justin Fields. Fast forward—Fields is off to the Jets, Wilson’s still stuck in limbo, and let’s be real: the Steelers don’t seem the least bit interested in bringing him back. In fact, they’re busy in signing Aaron Rodgers.

Now, team insider Mike DeFabo has come forward and talked about this all Wilson-Steelers debate. Stick with us, folks, because his latest reports are pretty concerning. See, DeFabo believes that the Steelers GM, Omar Khan, wanted to sign either Wilson or Fields. The kicker? Well, they’re using Wilson as a backup option—at least that’s what DeFabo believes.

“As it turned out, publicly, they framed this as a Justin versus Russ decision, but it’s pretty clear that they were really just using Russell Wilson as a backup plan and as leverage,” he said, in a conversation with The BetMGM Network on YouTube. “And it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if Aaron Rodgers made his decision one way or the other on the first Wednesday of free agency. Then you just kind of pivot to Russ. But by letting this drag out, Russ who is probably plan B at this point down the road, maybe you know their fourth option overall, he can’t be too happy about the way that things have gone.”

Now, that’s where things get interesting for the Steelers and terrible for Wilson. The Steelers had their plan sorted out. Instead of Wilson, they’ve their sight on Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and Sam Darnold. No wonder DeFabo joked, “Now you’re going, if you’re Russell Wilson, ‘Wait a minute, you didn’t get Justin, then you explored Sam Darnold, you thought about Matt Stafford and maybe offered him a contract, now you’re talking to Aaron Rodgers. How far down the list do I fall?’ So Russell Wilson may not be in a position to dictate things because it sure seems like the market isn’t very strong for him right now.”

That said, there will be no homecoming for Wilson in 2025. However, the 36-year-old QB could sign with the Giants. The reason? Well, first off, Rodgers is probably going to sign with the Steelers. Second, the Giants are reportedly looking to sign a veteran QB. Yeah, despite signing Jamies Winston a few days ago.

All in all, the Steelers could sign Rodgers, there’s no doubt about that. But one thing’s for sure: Russell Wilson’s future is still up in the air.