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New York Post
21 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Why Steelers were so confident Aaron Rodgers would sign in lengthy free agency saga
Aaron Rodgers' relationship with his new Steelers team had been growing behind the scenes for some time. When exploring the offseason dynamic between the ex-Jets quarterback and Pittsburgh brass in a new Sports Illustrated piece published Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer explained how the Steelers never felt Rodgers, 41, would get cold feet before both parties made their one-year pact official Saturday with a $13.65 million deal. 'There weren't regularly scheduled check-ins, but Rodgers would call Tomlin and Smith every now and again, which colors why the Steelers were never really concerned that Rodgers would back out on them,' Breer wrote. 4 Aaron Rodgers made his one-year pact with the Steelers official in June 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST 4 Steelers coach Mike Tomlin (l.) and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith (r.) in May 2025. AP Rodgers, coming off two unremarkable seasons with the Jets, had been targeted by the Steelers for much of the offseason. The four-time league MVP's name was originally floated when Pittsburgh 'went through initial end-of-season evaluations,' according to Breer, with the Steelers looking to move on from Russell Wilson, who started for much of the 10-7 season as Justin Fields served as the backup. Although Pittsburgh hoped to keep Fields, the former Bears first-round pick agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with the Jets as free agency began. 4 Aaron Rodgers spent the past two seasons with the Jets. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post As the quarterback dominoes continued to fall, Rodgers remained on the board, even after he visited the Steelers' facility in March. With the 2025 NFL Draft coming into view weeks later, speculation mounted as to whether Pittsburgh would take a quarterback early, a la Shedeur Sanders, or wait it out with Rodgers, who put football decisions on hold with someone close to him battling cancer. The Steelers, namely team president Art Rooney II, expressed in May that the team was willing to wait 'a little while longer' for Rodgers, with the lengthy saga coming to a close last week. 4 The Steelers are coming off a 10-7 season. AP 'Officially official,' the Steelers' Instagram account posted Saturday, sharing a photo of Rodgers wearing a curious band on his left ring finger as he put pen to paper. Rodgers signed days before the Steelers report to mandatory minicamp, which begins Tuesday. The quarterback appeared in 17 games for the Jets last season, throwing 28 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. Rodgers will face his former Jets team in Week 1 when the Steelers visit MetLife Stadium.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
HOF DE Dwight Freeney remembers Colts owner Jim Irsay on 'GMFB'
Breer: NFL is trying to 'legitimize' flag football MMQB Senior NFL reporter Albert Breer joins the Dan Patrick Show to discuss 2028 Olympic flag football, NFL owners set to vote on tush push ban and playoff format, the New Orleans Saints quarterback situation and more. 19:20 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
NFL star offers shock verdict on Shedeur Sanders' draft slide and takes sly dig at New York Giants
Shedeur Sanders' surprise fall down the NFL Draft board came as a shock to many draft analysts and football fans. Apparently, the current stars of the NFL were puzzled as well. Sanders was eventually selected with the 144th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns, but that came in the fifth round of the draft. Considering the quarterback prospect was widely projected to be taken in the first round, his slide is one of the most shocking in the history of the NFL Draft. Reflecting on that drop over a week later, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson offered his thoughts on the son of Deion Sanders and what teams may regret passing on him. 'I think it's crazy that he dropped that far in the draft,' Jefferson told Bleacher Report from the paddock at the Miami Grand Prix. 'I definitely don't think he should've dropped that far. Just watching him the previous seasons and seeing the different things he did at Colorado, I definitely thought he should've been drafted in that first, second round. 'I guess it's just more fire for him and more chip on his shoulder that he can use going into the league.' As for which team could regret passing on him, Jefferson doesn't seem to have much confidence in the quarterback room for the New York Giants. 'I mean, New York doesn't really have a quarterback,' Jefferson said. He also named the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. But recent reports indicate why the Giants may have ended up passing on him. Sports Illustrated 's Albert Breer appeared on Boston sports radio show Zolak and Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub to explain what he had learned that doomed Sanders to fall further than expected. 'He handled the process like he was a top-five (pick) lock,' Breer told the station, adding that Sanders was so high on himself that he declined meetings with a number of teams he thought would have missed the chance to select him. 'All these teams that either heard the bad stories from the other teams or that (he) refused to meet with or that had a bad experience with (him) personally ... now the amount of teams that are willing to (draft him) has narrowed,' Breer added. The Giants, coached by Brian Daboll (pictured), reportedly set Sanders up to fail in the meeting Breer revealed that the Giants had some interest in him, but passed when he failed a test of his offensive play knowledge. He said that Sanders was shown an 'install' - or a package of plays the team would be considering to add to their repertoire. 'And there are mistakes intentionally put in the install. He didn't catch them and got called on it, and it didn't go well after that,' Breer revealed, adding, 'He was p***ed that they did that to him.'
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Why Shedeur Sanders was left furious with New York Giants after heated NFL Draft meeting
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders' precipitous fall down the NFL Draft boards may have been prevented if he had taken special care in his pre-draft visit with the New York Giants. Sanders was a projected first-round pick for many draft analysts. However, he ended up falling all the way down to the fifth-round when Cleveland took him with the 144th pick. His last likely chance to be drafted in the first round came when the Giants traded up to the 25th overall pick. Many believed the G-Men would take Sanders, but instead, they took Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. While it may have been a shock to some fans, it appears that the Giants lost interest in Sanders when he failed a test in the pre-draft process. Sports Illustrated 's Albert Breer appeared on Boston sports radio show Zolak and Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub to explain what he had learned that doomed Sanders to fall further than expected. 'He handled the process like he was a top-five (pick) lock,' Breer told the station, adding that Sanders was so high on himself that he declined meetings with a number of teams he thought would have missed the chance to select him. 'All these teams that either heard the bad stories from the other teams or that (he) refused to meet with or that had a bad experience with (him) personally ... now the amount of teams that are willing to (draft him) has narrowed,' Breer added. Breer revealed that the Giants had some interest in him, but passed when he failed a test of his offensive play knowledge. He said that Sanders was shown an 'install' - or a package of plays the team would be considering to add to their repertoire. 'And there are mistakes intentionally put in the install. He didn't catch them and got called on it, and it didn't go well after that,' Breer revealed, adding, 'He was pissed that they did that to him.' But the Giants weren't the only team that had an issue with Sanders' attitude. In a meeting at the NFL Combine, one team asked the Colorado quarterback to explain one of the ten interceptions he threw last season. 'He throws a bad interception. It was a deep throw early in the game,' Breer said. 'They go in the meeting, they show the interception and they say, 'What happened here?' (Sanders responds,) 'Well, I like to get into a rhythm earlier in the game.' 'They get into it over that, and (Sanders') conclusion is, 'Well, maybe I'm not a fit for you.' 'The person who told me that story was like, 'I've never heard that before.' It was in a combine interview when you're just going from team to team trying to put your best foot forward.' That poor impression led to the drop to the Browns, where Sanders faces a tough battle to try and crack the roster. He'll have to compete with veterans Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett - as well as fellow draft pick Dillon Gabriel, who was selected two rounds earlier than Sanders.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Steelers Player Blasts Shedeur Sanders: 'He's Gonna Be an Epic Failure'
From Steelers Now: To say the least, former Steelers running back Merril Hoge is not a fan of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Hoge, who correctly predicted that Johnny Manziel was going to be a bust, thinks Sanders is going to be an epic failure in the NFL. Advertisement 'He can't handle the expectations that are coming his way. He's gonna be an epic failure and he's gonna get set your organization back another two or three years,' Hoge said on 102.5 WDVE's Morning Show with Randy Baumann. Sanders did not have an elite offensive line at Colorado, but he still had the most quarterback-faulted pressures and sacks in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. Pocket awareness is something that many talent evaluators are concerned about with him. 'The best way to sum it up is his a really good college quarterback,' Hoge said. 'His accuracy is good. His processing is good. And when I say good, I use a scale of 1 to 10. So good is around five. So if you're a five in college, okay? Those are the two most important aspects of transitioning to the National Football League and then you build from there. Anticipation, pocket awareness and then we start building. But those two things, if you're a five, you're not a first rounder. You're not a franchise guy.' Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Athletics Hoge is not the only one that thinks Sanders will be a bust. NFL insider Albert Breer examined this year's quarterback class with the help of nine QB-adjacent offensive coaches from nine different NFL teams, and the overall consensus on Sanders was pretty negative. Advertisement 'This guy—if his last name was Breer,' the NFC quarterbacks coach joked with Breer, 'and he was coming out of Minnesota, he'd be a sixth-round pick. He doesn't play with good feet, he's late on stuff, he has an average arm. His accuracy is O.K., but he has no timing, no anticipation. He flashes some throws, but he's an average player, not a great athlete. Even if you watch his pro day, there's no timing or rhythm. He takes extra hitches.' One NFC quarterbacks coach absolutely ripped Sanders. 'This guy—if his last name was Breer,' the NFC quarterbacks coach joked with Breer, 'and he was coming out of Minnesota, he'd be a sixth-round pick. He doesn't play with good feet, he's late on stuff, he has an average arm. His accuracy is O.K., but he has no timing, no anticipation. He flashes some throws, but he's an average player, not a great athlete. Even if you watch his pro day, there's no timing or rhythm. He takes extra hitches.' An unnamed AFC coordinator wasn't as harsh, but he noted that there's some big question marks with the highly-touted Colorado quarterback. Advertisement 'The physical tools, when you see it in rhythm, it looks good,' the AFC coordinator said. 'The stuff you ding him on, holding the ball, dropping too deep, waiting for things to happen instead of anticipating, that's the Jekyll and Hyde. … The things I'll give him credit for, he makes plays in big moments, I do think he's got plenty of arm. And I'll be interested to see him out of his comfort zone, when he's just playing football. His dad's been around wherever he's played. There's some positive to that, of course. There'll be some stuff that'll be new for him, too.' With just two days until the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers are now the favorites to land Sanders, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The New Orleans Saints had been the favorites to land Sanders for several weeks, but there seems to be growing belief that he could fall on Day 1 of the draft. The Steelers hosted Sanders for a pre-draft visit earlier this month, and it's safe to say head coach Mike Tomlin came away from it impressed with the young signal caller. The Steelers reportedly met with Sanders for five hours, but Tomlin revealed they didn't spend much time talking about Sanders' father, NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. Advertisement 'I've obviously known his father for a long time. My first time meeting him. And to be quite honest with you, we didn't talk a whole lot about my relationship with his father,' Tomlin said. 'It was a normal pre-draft visit to spend time with a young man, to talk ball, to get to know him as an individual, to get to see how he processes and sees the game and how he articulates his football experience. From that standpoint, it was very normal and it was a very productive one.' Alan Saunders and Aaron Becker contributed reporting for this story. This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers Player Blasts Shedeur Sanders: 'He's Gonna Be an Epic Failure'
