By Tuesday evening, it appeared likely that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers might ultimately sign with either the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Giants.
Justin Fields
concurred with a two-year, $40 million agreement to take over as Rodgers’ successor.
According to
Josh Carney
From Steelers Depot, The Athletic’s Chase Daniel, a former NFL quarterback, disclosed on Tuesday during FS1’s “The Facility” show that Pittsburgh had extended an offer to Sam Darnold. As the premier quarterback available in this free-agent class, Darnold was clearly of interest.
agreed to
a three-year, $100.5 million agreement to depart from Minnesota
Vikings play for the Seattle Seahawks.
Daniel mentioned that the funds offered by Pittsburgh were not as substantial as what Seattle plans to pay Darnold. Additionally, he noted that Darnold was more inclined to work with Seahawks’ offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak over Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Kubiak was
The passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers where Darnold served as a backup during the 2023 season.
Daniel mentioned that Darnold chose Seattle over Pittsburgh because he felt more at ease with their offensive style. The system employed by Kubiak mirrors what Darnold experienced under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell during the recent season.
Pro Football Reference,
In the 2024 regular season, Darnold concluded his campaign ranking fifth in the league for passing yards with 4,319, tied for fifth place with 35 touchdown passes, and placed sixth amongst eligible quarterbacks based on a passer rating of 102.5.
Mike DeFabo
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the Steelers were interested in Justin Fields becoming their quarterback in 2025, provided he came at their cost. Given that Darnold represented a higher financial commitment compared to Fields, it can be inferred that the Steelers likely explored discussions with Darnold’s representatives during the legal tampering phase of free agency. This indicates that retaining Fields was not the preferred choice for the Pittsburgh organization.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini
Others noted that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin appeared to express strong opinions about Fields when he decided to bench the 26-year-old in favor of veteran Russell Wilson last October, following Fields’ 4-2 record as a starter. It seems now that Tomlin and company weren’t really committed to retaining Fields unless he agreed to provide the Steelers with a substantial local discount.
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(Provided by SofTech)
