PITTSBURGH — A few hours after Aaron Rodgers signed the contract at team headquarters on Saturday that made it official, the new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback showed up at a backyard cookout.
As Rodgers arrived, the host jumped out of his seat at the end of the driveway and greeted his high-profile visitor with a bro-hug. Rodgers, in turn, came bearing a gift that he presented to the host. Classy move.
The host? Mike Tomlin.
Witnessing this energetic exchange was classic. The love exhibited between Rodgers and his new coach seemed so genuine. And what a fitting place for Rodgers to jump-start the process of acclimating to a new environment.
The quarterback seemed laid-back, open and comfortable as he mingled with Tomlin and many of the guests for a few hours during the cookout.
“That was so cool,” Rodgers told USA TODAY Sports, reflecting on Tuesday during his debut at the opening of the Steelers minicamp. “Had a great time.”
Tomlin has hosted the event around this time on the calendar for several years, inviting staff, family and friends – and this year he doubled down on the top-shelf catering, adding BBQ to the usual Louisiana seafood fare – so Rodgers’ timing was spot-on.
And his presence may have had added significance when considering the weight that Rodgers, 41, put on his emerging relationship with Tomlin as a key factor for joining the Steelers. For the bulk of the offseason, as Rodgers sorted through myriad personal and professional matters, including retirement, he talked to Tomlin at least once per week.
“The way that the conversations went between him and I, between whenever it was in March, through April and the last Sunday when I called him, was some of the coolest conversations I’ve had in the game. Definitely, with a head coach,” Rodgers said during a post-practice press conference. “He’s a big reason I’m here. I believe in him and I am excited to play for him.”
Rodgers added that the vibe with Tomlin ultimately narrowed his process.
“I think there were some conversations with other organizations, for sure, but the more that it fell in between me and Mike made it to where, as I was going through my personal stuff, there wasn’t any other option,’ Rodgers said. ‘It was here or not play.”Bonding with Tomlin undoubtedly is crucial to the potential for a positive Pittsburgh experience. Yet it is hardly the only key relationship that Rodgers wants to develop.
His social calendar the past few days is proof of that intent. Rodgers followed the Tomlin cookout by attending an outing for players hosted by team captain Cam Heyward.
“It’s been good,” Rodgers told USA TODAY Sports of his acclimation process. “It’s exciting. I went to Cam’s cookout on Sunday and then went to his golf tournament (on Monday).”
At Heyward’s event, which raised funds for his charity foundation, Rodgers was seen driving a golf cart while DK Metcalf rode shotgun. How fitting. Metcalf, the big-play receiver the Steelers acquired from the Seattle Seahawks in March, is Rodgers’ most talented weapon. They need to bond.
And they both know it.
Metcalf worked out with Rodgers in Southern California earlier in the offseason. And Rodgers said the receiver has been “blowing up” his phone with text messages. Meanwhile, tight end Pat Freiermuth has connected with direct messages on social media. Rodgers and Freiermuth could make it to the U.S. Open golf tournament being staged at Oakmont, Pennsylvania, this weekend.
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Then there’s the matter of football chemistry. Rodgers is looking to arrange workouts with skilled-position players during the five-week window between the end of minicamp and the July 23 report date for training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Details are TBD. But Rodgers, who has a home in Southern California, has the location covered.
“I have to try and convince them to come out to Malibu, California,” he said.
Rodgers worked in conditioning and individual football drills during his first day at minicamp. His movement was fluid and his passes were tight and crisp. He offered to do more and participate in the team drills, but Tomlin nixed that idea.
“June reps are a heck of a lot more important for a guy like Will Howard at this stage of his career than they are for a guy that’s been doing it 20 years,” Tomlin said, using the sixth-round rookie for a comparison. “So, whatever reps he gets, you take away from a guy like Will Howard. And we’re trying to get this collective ready for training camp.”
In other words, now that Rodgers is in the fold, there’s no need to push it at this point.
Besides, he’s still learning the offense. While the other quarterbacks took the snaps in team drills, Rodgers listened to play-calls on his helmet and followed plays on the practice script. He also spent time conversing with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Which brings to mind more acclimation. As Rodgers absorbs a new offense, Smith will be tasked to tailor the scheme to his Hall of Fame-credentialed quarterback. Their ability to mesh will be crucial and invites scrutiny when considering the reported friction last season between Smith and another veteran quarterback, Russell Wilson.
Rodgers, meanwhile, has long been regarded as having one of the NFL’s sharpest minds – which leads to the expectation that he will get extensive leeway in a system.
He pushed back a bit, though, when essentially asked on Tuesday if he needs to have the freedom to be able to take over an offense when he sees fit.
“The idea that somehow I need to, or I’ve spent most of my career playing outside of an offensive system is just not correct,” Rodgers said. “I’m going to learn the offense and Arthur and I are going to talk a bunch this summer and if there are some things that I like, that I’d like to see in the offense, Arthur, I’m sure, is going to put it in. But he knows how to call a game; I know how to get us in the right spot, based on what’s called. There’s two or three plays called in the huddle sometimes. My job is to get us in the right play.”
Let Aaron cook?
Stay tuned. This week, though, it’s about cookouts and finding his way around the Steelers headquarters.
“Everything’s new,” Rodgers said. “It’s like the first day of school. I don’t know a lot of guys’ names. They don’t have names on the back of the jerseys here; they don’t have names in the doors of the meeting rooms. So, I literally walk out of the locker room lost. I try to grab somebody, ‘Hey, where am I going?’ But I’m getting the feel of it.”
Rodgers’ first day at minicamp included a message to his new teammates during a team meeting. After his extended period of contemplation before deciding to join the Steelers on a one-year contract, perhaps it was a message that needed to be expressed.
Especially now, as Rodgers transitions to new chapter.
“He just said he’s all-in and ready to go,” relayed second-year center Zach Frazier.
A message that surely won’t hurt in the acclimation process.
Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell
