Report: Steelers among Three Options if Packers Trade Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers helps Steelers playoff chances

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the few realistic options for a trade if Aaron Rodgers decides he wants to leave Green Bay, according to a report by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Rodgers has said he’s been deciding for the last few weeks if he wants to stay in Green Bay, play somewhere else or call it a career. According to Florio, much ground work has been done already if Rodgers chooses to play for another team.

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The Denver Broncos, long considered the front-runners to land Rodgers should he play elsewhere next week, are among the teams that that Packers have already worked out the details of a potential Rodgers trade with, along with the Steelers and Tennessee Titans, according to Florio.

If the Packers are to trade Rodgers, it will almost certainly be to an AFC team. It is not clear what kind of compensation the Packers are seeking or have arrange. Under his current contract, Rodgers is owed $26.5 million in salary for the 2022 season, along with a just over $1 million in bonuses. He would leave a dead salary cap hit of $26.9 million with the Packers if traded before June 1. Rodgers is slated to become a free agent after the 2022 season.

The Steelers do have the available cap space to make such a deal work, at least at this juncture, though it could cause a squeeze closer to the season without other moves.

The reigning two-time NFL MVP, Rodgers went to his 10th Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro for the fourth time in his career in 2021. He also led the NFL in passer rating while leading the Packers to a 13-4 record and an NFC North title.

The Steelers need to replace retired star Ben Roethlisberger, and have spent much of the offseason scouting college quarterbacks and being connected to potential trade and free agent acquisitions like Mitchell Trubisky, Marcus Mariota and Rodgers.

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