An NFL insider has suggested Aaron Rodgers may have ‘blocked’ Shedeur Sanders from joining the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders was pegged as a top pick, and Pittsburgh were seen as a team in need of a quarterback.
Rookie Sanders was seen as a top draft prospect before his slideGettyBut the Colorado Buffaloes prospect didn’t end up in the Steel City.
In fact, the Steelers passed on Sanders three times before he was eventually taken by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th pick, which ended an all-time draft slide.
Much of the conversation coming out of the weekend has been dominated by Shedeur’s fall, and in recent days, a new theory about why the Steelers didn’t take him has come to light.
According to NFL analyst Ross Tucker, veteran quarterback Rodgers — who has long been linked with moving to Pittsburgh — could have been the one who influenced the team’s draft strategy.
“I think Aaron’s going to sign with them. I would be very, very surprised at this point if he doesn’t,” Tucker told 365 Sports.
“Because if they didn’t have 99% confidence that he was going to, I think they would have drafted a quarterback.
“In fact, I’ll take it a step further. I don’t have any evidence of this, it’s is rampant speculation, but I would tell you right now I believe that Aaron Rodgers told the Steelers, ‘Hey, don’t draft Shedeur Sanders.’
“Or maybe the Steelers just knew. He doesn’t want to deal with that. He’s 40 something years old.”
In a separate appearance on CBS Sports’ Dan Patrick show, Tucker doubled down on the claim, and suggested that having a high-profile draft pick like Sanders backing him up would be unwanted pressure for four-time MVP Rodgers.
He said: “I have no proof of this, I’m convinced Aaron told the Steelers, ‘I’ll come, but don’t take that Sanders kid.’
NFL analyst Tucker believes Rodgers was behind Pittsburgh’s draft strategyGetty Tucker suggested Rodgers would not want a high-profile backup behind himYouTube: Dan Patrick Show“Aaron doesn’t want, the first time he has a bad game, people calling for the Steelers to put Shedeur Sanders in.
“Whether he said something or not, I will believe forever that Aaron Rodgers made it known to the Steelers that he didn’t want Shedeur Sanders in that quarterback room, and have to deal with that in what might be his last year in the NFL.”
Rodgers, of course, is yet to sign with Pittsburgh.
Despite that, there is growing belief that he had a major impact on the Steelers’ draft strategy.
After passing on Sanders, the team took developmental quarterback prospect Will Howard in the sixth round, and he joins Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson on the roster.
Last month, general manager Omar Khan revealed that the Steelers will take four QBs into training camp, so it is widely expected Rodgers will complete that group.
Rodgers is widely expected to be the fourth QB added to Pittsburgh’s roster this summerGettyView Tweet: twitter.com/hashtag/NFLDraft?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While speculation is rife over the Super Bowl winner’s involvement behind-the-scenes, head coach Mike Tomlin has already explained that he wanted this year’s draft class to ‘re-establish physicality and big man presence’.
Another Steelers insider, Gerry Dulac, has claimed the franchise did not intend to draft Sanders in the first place.
But amid the raging debate, one thing is certain: Rodgers needs to sign with Pittsburgh.
If he finally arrives, then all the speculation around Sanders will surely go away. If he doesn’t, the Steelers draft strategy will come under even more scrutiny.
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