Not long after quarterback Aaron Rodgers finally decided to sign on the dotted line with the Pittsburgh Steelers, reports surfaced that he may not have been the team’s first option.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Steelers actually preferred Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford before he eventually re-upped in L.A.
Schefter also noted that the team preferred to keep Justin Fields before he decided to start anew with the New York Jets.
“This was the best move that the Pittsburgh Steelers could make right now,” he said on ESPN’s Get Up. “But let’s also remember that this was the third option for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were in on Matthew Stafford and couldn’t get done a trade.
“They tried to re-sign Justin Fields. He opted to go to the New York Jets where he will meet Aaron Rodgers on opening day, and after they couldn’t get a trade done for Stafford and couldn’t get Fields resigned, they pivoted to Aaron Rodgers.”
Stafford was reportedly available via trade earlier this offseason as he and the Rams tried to work out a new contract. However, as Steelers insider Mark Kaboly writes, the feeling was that a Stafford trade was never realistic.
“What are we talking about with Matthew Stafford here?” Kaboly asked on 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show (H/T Steelers Depot). “Matt Stafford was just a ploy by the Rams to get him to sign back there. That was never legitimate.”
Instead of putting Stafford among the Steelers’ preferred options over Rodgers, Kaboly says it was actually Fields who was ahead of Rodgers on the list.
“It was Justin Fields,” Kaboly added. “Then when he said no, it was like, “Uh oh, we don’t really want Russell [Wilson]. What’s our next option?
It’s understandable why the Steelers might prefer both players over Rodgers, as they’d offer more than the one-year solution he does.
However, when it comes to a win-now situation like the one in Pittsburgh, there weren’t any realistic options better than Rodgers for the Steelers, and that was especially true this late in the offseason.
