After his first practice with the Steelers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent 12 minutes or so with reporters. One of the most important answers Rodgers gave related to his alternatives to signing with Pittsburgh.
As Rodgers told it on Tuesday, the choice was simple.
“There was conversations with other organizations, for sure,” Rodgers said. “But, again, the rapport that fell in between me and Mike [Tomlin] made it to where, as I was going through my personal stuff, there wasn’t any other option for me. It was here or not play.”
Rodgers previously has said that he spoke to other teams. Most notably, he talked to the Vikings and the Giants. In the end, as he explains it, there was only one team he was going to play for.
Rodgers also said that he doesn’t need to keep playing for his “ego,” and that he made the decision that was “best for my soul.”
“I felt like being here with Coach T and the guys they got here and the opportunity here was the best for me, and I’m excited to be here,” Rodgers said.
Plenty of Steelers fans aren’t as excited, for now. If things go well, they will be. If nothing else, they should be excited about the very low base value of the Rodgers deal — and about the fact that, if he make his full $19.5 million, it will mean that the Steelers have won their seventh Super Bowl.
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