Can Aaron Rodgers succeed if he waits until late summer to sign with Steelers? Brett Favre did it
There's a moment in the Netflix documentary "Untold: The Fall of Favre" when the film is reliving Brett Favre's late career stops, and a graphic shows when he signed with the Minnesota Vikings: August 18, 2009.
August 18? That can't be possible. That was a few days before the Vikings' second preseason game. We've heard over and over that quarterbacks need all offseason to build bonds with their new teammates and learn the offense. But Favre must have had a terrible 2009 season, starting that late. Right?
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Not exactly. He had maybe his best NFL season at age 40. Maybe Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers can continue to wait for each other.
Rodgers and the Steelers have been connected for months, but still there's no official agreement on a contract. Rodgers said he has been dealing with personal issues, and is on no timetable to make a decision. So we wait.
There has to be some unease about Rodgers being unsigned, though the Steelers haven't shown that outwardly. Coaches like players being at OTAs and minicamps, getting used to teammates and the playbook.
But Rodgers has been following Favre in many ways for many years. And waiting turned out just fine for Favre in Minnesota.
Can Aaron Rodgers be ready if he signs late?
Favre's 2009 offseason was wild. He said he was retiring after a season with the New York Jets and insisted he was never playing again. By the summer that seemed to be a part of a plan to land with the Vikings. The Jets released him and he ended up with the Vikings.
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But not until mid-August. In late July, after training camp had already started, Favre insisted he was still retired. Then it changed. And you think that Rodgers not being signed in late May this year is a cause for alarm.
In Minnesota Favre played in a West Coast offensive scheme he was familiar with, and that likely helped. But there weren't many questions at the time about Favre assimilating himself with the Vikings. And it didn't end up being an issue.
In 2009 Favre had one of the best seasons of his career. He posted a 107.2 passer rating, almost eight points higher than the second-best mark of his Hall of Fame career. He finished fourth in the MVP voting and had a good argument to win it. Had the Vikings not melted down late in the NFC championship game, Favre would have taken Minnesota to its only Super Bowl since the 1977 season.
He didn't exactly need all those May minicamp reps. Rodgers might not either.
The NFL world continues to wait for Aaron Rodgers to sign with a new team. (Photo by)
(Andy Lyons via Getty Images)
When will Rodgers sign?
Favre is an outlier. But so is Rodgers.
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Rodgers and Favre are linked forever, and their careers have mirrored each other in many ways from the multiple MVPs and single Super Bowl title, to the short late-career time with the Jets to a third team right before retirement (assuming Rodgers does sign with the Steelers or someone else).
Coaches are obsessive about practice reps, and mostly for good reason, but it can be overstated. Favre was fine in 2009. Offenses executed very well in 2020 after an unprecedented and mostly lost offseason due to COVID-19. Just two seasons ago Joe Flacco was signed by the Cleveland Browns in November and helped them to the playoffs. Smart veteran quarterbacks, especially ones with the pedigree of a Favre or Rodgers, usually figure things out.
In a perfect world, Rodgers would sign with the Steelers as soon as possible and be with the team through the rest of the spring and the start of training camp. The Steelers coaches would almost certainly prefer that. With every day Rodgers misses, you'll hear anxious reports about him being ready for the season.
All signs are that Rodgers will sign with the Steelers. It's just a matter of when. And if it takes a while, it still might end up just fine. It did for Rodgers' former Packers teammate.
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