Aaron Rodgers was Steelers’ ‘third option’ at quarterback before pairing came together

The Steelers may have waited around for Aaron Rodgers to finally sign a contract, but that doesn’t mean he was their No. 1 choice. 

In fact, the ex-Jet quarterback was apparently Pittsburgh’s third choice for the position, ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported. 

The Steelers announced that Rodgers inked a one-year contract with the team after a lengthy waiting game, but the decision to bring in the four-time NFL MVP was out of necessity rather than choice. 

“This was the third option for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Schefter said during Friday’s “NFL Live” while discussing the signing. “They were in on Matthew Stafford and couldn’t get done a trade. They tried to re-sign Justin Fields, he opted to go to the New York Jets, where he will meet Rodgers on opening day. And after they couldn’t get a trade done for Stafford and couldn’t get Fields re-signed, they pivoted to Rodgers.”

The quarterback is coming off a season in which he threw 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but it wasn’t enough to help the Jets reach the lofty goals that were placed upon the team at the beginning of the year — and they finished 5-12. 

The Jets opted to move on from Rodgers earlier this year during a meeting at the team’s facility, which the future Hall of Famer later went on to criticize in an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”