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4 hours ago
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Aaron Rodgers wasn't one of the 32 names called during Thursday night's NFL Draft first round.
But just how he likes it, Rodgers was at the front of mind anyway.
A number of the first-round picks had direct impacts on what comes next for Rodgers. At least that's how it felt.
The Saints not choosing a QB at No. 9 keeps them as a darkhorse to get Rodgers in free agency after Derek Carr's injury.
The Steelers passing on Shedeur Sanders at No. 21 is another obvious case of a team hoping it can wind up with Rodgers instead.
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Reports emerged early Friday morning that Rodgers was supposed to give the Steelers a decision already, but the big insiders haven't joined in on that reporting, so it's not certain that's accurate.
Regardless, Rodgers has led the Steelers on for a month. Soon enough, he's going to have to make a decision to go somewhere or he's going to be out of luck.
Luckily for him, there are still multiple openings. If the Steelers had drafted Sanders, maybe they would've avoided the enigma that is Rodgers.
But with seemingly no incoming rookie QB with a legit chance to start (Pittsburgh doesn't pick again until the third round), Rodgers is unquestionably the best solution ahead of Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.
"Pittsburgh let Russell Wilson and Justin Fields go this offseason and the franchise still has to keep pace in the AFC North," Bill Bender writes. "Will Rodgers be the answer for Mike Tomlin, after all?"
That's the question we're all waiting to learn the answer to, and Rodgers might just have one soon.
First, he'll likely bask in how much attention he got even on a night he was totally uninvolved with. It's not a bad time to be Rodgers.
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