If you’ve been around the NFL long enough, you know the Jets have a knack for turning drama into tradition. From a strength coach tripping an opposing player on the sideline in 2010 to players publicly calling out the team for broken promises and internal chaos, it’s been a recurring theme. In fact, the NFL Players Association recently ranked the Jets 29th out of 32 teams, highlighting issues like a “culture of fear” and poor management under owner Woody Johnson.
So, when Aaron Rodgers—a four-time MVP with 62,952 career passing yards and a Super Bowl ring exposed the Jets’ new regime about their mistreatment of the QB, it wasn’t that big ol’ a surprise. “I flew cross-country thinking we’d have a meaningful conversation. Within 20 seconds, they told me they were going in a different direction,” that was Aaron Glenn confirming a full closure of Rodgers’ brief stint with the Jets.
After a couple of underwhelming seasons in New York, Rodgers surely hoped for a homecoming. Alas, Coach Glenn and the general manager, Darren Mougey, had different plans. The 41-year-old QB literally flew across the country to find out that the team doesn’t even want to work with him, which, according to him, could have been notified over a phone call.
And that’s a major concern for the Steelers veteran, Cam Heyward. On Tuesday, Heward talked about the Jets‘ mistreating Rodgers, where he straight-up admitted that all these things sound lame to him. “How do we get excited about a guy losing his job?” Heyward ranted, “and like making him fly across the country just to do it in person? I’ve seen multiple times where GMs call up an agent. I just don’t get that. That’s lame to me.”
Undoubtedly, Heward knows a thing or two about the team’s culture, considering the 35-year-old veteran defensive tackle has been a cornerstone of the Steelers’ defense for over a decade now. No wonder Heward found it lame when the Jets told Rodgers that they’re going in different directions with him, not over a phone call, but in person.
And Cam Heyward totally connects with it. No way he’d sit back quietly if the Steelers called him in just to say, ‘Hey, we’re moving on.’ That kind of thing wouldn’t sit right with him, either. “I would be even mad if, like, I’m getting cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers, right? They made me drive down to the facility. They couldn’t just let me at home and not make me stick through traffic. I don’t really vibe with that. That’s just a different way,” he continued.
That said, with the Jets already moved on from Rogers, the veteran QB is constantly being linked to the Steelers. Is he going to sign a deal with Pittsburgh? We’ve no clue. Now that he revealed his conversation with his former team, the rumor mill is buzzing that Rodgers is going to sign a deal with the Steelers anytime soon. However, Cam Heward isn’t the one to believe this. Not so easily.
“I don’t know what else to take from it. He’s not a Pittsburgh Steelers yet. We’ll see what happens,” he concluded. Indeed, he isn’t.
But the man confirmed that he’ll be playing one more season even if he gets a $10 million deal. Whether he’s actually going to sign a $10M deal with Pittsburgh or not, we still have to get a confirmation on that. In the meantime, the Steelers just had a meeting with Colorado’s quarterback, Shedeur Sanders.
Who’s going to be the Steelers’ QB1: Aaron Rodgers or Shedeur Sanders?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are yet to find a franchise QB after Big Ben called it a career a few years ago. Since then, the franchise has tried four QBs, but none of ’em screamed “franchise QB.” Justin Fields showed some flashes, and the way Art Rooney II talked this offseason, it seemed like Fields was going to sign a massive contract extension with the team. But nah, the guy was looking for a better opportunity, which he probably found when he signed a two-year deal with the Jets. And the Steelers?
They’re still stuck at the same place where they were a couple of months ago. In quarterback limbo. The first few weeks of the offseason, they wasted it over a debate of Russell Wilson vs. Fields. The last few weeks, they wasted while waiting on Aaron Rodgers. Now that the NFL draft is almost here, Pittsburgh is expected to use its No. 21 pick on a QB this Thursday. The rumors are linking them to Shedeur Sanders. The reason?
First, they don’t have any other option (because there’s no confirmation on Rodgers). Second, Shedeur recently visited the Steelers along with a few other teams. On Tuesday, Mike Tomlin talked about Sanders’ visit to the Steelers and admitted that it was a pre-draft visit even though he’s familiar with Coach Prime. “I’ve known his father for a long time,” Tomlin told reporters of the visit.
“We didn’t talk a whole lot about my relationship with his father. It was a normal pre-draft visit. To spend time with a young man, to talk ball, to get to know him as an individual, to get to see how he processes and sees the game, and how he articulates his football experience. From that standpoint, it was a very normal visit and a very productive one.” Earlier this month, the Colorado Buffaloes’ QB also spoke about his early visit to the Steelers on the Up & Adams Show.
“I enjoyed my time here in Pittsburgh, I think I connected well with all the coaches, and it was real fun,” he said. “I understand the mindset and why they win a lot,” he said about Tomlin. “Just how he is as a person, and just the values that the team has. What he preaches from his staff down is similar to my dad.” The Steelers already clarified that they’re planning to add two more QBs to their roster, and they could do so in the NFL draft.
Whether one of ’em will be Shedeur Sanders or not? Guess we’ll know this Thursday.
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