Terry Bradshaw calls possibility of Steelers signing of Aaron Rodgers ‘a joke’

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The ongoing off-season saga of whether quarterback Aaron Rodgers might sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers isn’t sitting well with the team’s four-time Super Bowl champion, who called the idea “a joke.”

Terry Bradshaw, the Fox NFL commentator and Hall of Famer, offered a blunt assessment of the possibility that the 41-year-old four-time MVP might end up in Pittsburgh, ripping the Steelers for considering it in a radio interview Tuesday.

“That’s a joke. That to me is just a joke,” Bradshaw told 103.7 The Buzz. “What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.”

If the ayahuasca enthusiast isn’t with the Steelers, their top option at QB is Mason Rudolph, with Will Howard and Skylar Thompson on the roster. Gone is Kenny Pickett, the team’s first-round pick in 2022 and Bradshaw hated how the team handled him, too, calling the team “a failure” in how it developed him.

“Then they throw a kid in there for two years, and you’ve got an offense that doesn’t fit and doesn’t work, and they can’t run because their offensive line’s not even good enough for a run-blocking team,” Bradshaw said. “Now, they’re saying Kenny Pickett is a failure. He wasn’t a failure, the Steelers were a failure.”

Bradshaw isn’t the only former NFL player calling out Rodgers for his indecision. Mark Schlereth, the former NFL offensive lineman, called for Rodgers to attend the team’s organized team activities, which began Tuesday. Rodgers did not appear at the voluntary workouts with his future still in limbo. Mandatory minicamp begins June 10 and he’d expect Rodgers there if he’s going to play for the Steelers.

“Listen, if you can be at some public venue answering questions about your career, could you be at OTAs?” Schlereth said on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball.”

Rodgers, the man who could end all of the speculation, has been sharing his internal dialogue mostly in media appearances. In April, the former Packers and Jets quarterback told ESPN’s Pat McAfee that he is “open to anything and attached to nothing,” adding that he wanted to have his personal life in order before signing with a team. He told the “Joe Rogan Experience” that several people in his life were dealing with serious illnesses. “I’ve figured it out during the last year when I’ve been in the weeds with these people who are close to me that have cancer,” he told Rogan, without offering specifies.

Just last week, he offered a veiled hint about the Steelers when asked during a Q&A if he might consider playing for the Bears. “No, but I believe there’s a team that might play in Chicago this year on a road trip,” Rodgers said (the Steelers play at Chicago on Nov. 23). “I don’t know, not sure. Got to check it out. I love Chicago, though. Way more than they love me. It’s been a great relationship. All one way.”

Rodgers, who turns 42 in December, has acknowledged that retirement is a possibility, too.

“This entire time, I haven’t felt like I owed anybody some sort of decision at any point,” Rodgers told McAfee. “This is my life. Like I said, things are different now. My life is different. My personal life is different. … I’ve been up front with [the Steelers] about that and said, ‘Listen, if you need to move on, if you need to do something, by all means. By all means. Like, nothing but love and respect, if that’s a decision that needs to be made.’ But there’s been no deadline. And yeah, I’ve talked to [Coach Mike Tomlin] many times.”