WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

04/20 17:30 CDT Steelers are still waiting to hear from Aaron Rodgers about returning for a 22nd season Steelers are still waiting to hear from Aaron Rodgers about returning for a 22nd season By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Aaron Rodgers is still weighing whether he wants to play in 2026. The Pittsburgh Steelers are still willing to give him plenty of latitude to decide. Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan said Monday the team remains in regular communication with the four-time MVP, who guided the Steelers to the AFC North title in 2025. "Nothing's changed," Khan said. "It's all been positive and good. He knows how we feel about him and we know how he feels about us." It just hasn't rendered any definitive answer from Rodgers, and none appears to be coming before the NFL draft descends on Pittsburgh on Thursday. The 42-year-old quarterback didn't sign with Pittsburgh until just before the start of mandatory minicamp last June. Rodgers' uncertain status, however, is unlikely to play a factor in what the Steelers plan to do with their 12 selections that begin with the 21st overall pick. "That doesn't change our evaluation process," Khan said. "We're still putting the guys up where they need to be and we'll just see how it shakes out." What was once considered a quarterback-rich draft a year ago looks far different now, with no safe bets outside of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza of Indiana going No. 1 to Las Vegas. The Steelers currently only have two quarterbacks under contract in last year's sixth-round pick Will Howard --- whose rookie season a year ago was marred by a hand injury sustained early in training camp --- and longtime backup Mason Rudolph. Pittsburgh will almost certainly add to that depth in the draft. Penn State's Drew Allar, Miami's Carson Beck and North Dakota State's Cole Payton have all been in for pre-draft visits, though all figure to be later-round selections whenever they hear their name called. Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native hired to replace Mike Tomlin in January, has a lengthy resume as quarterback whisperer of sorts. The list of players McCarthy has worked with in the past include Rodgers, Dallas' Dak Prescott and former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith, who spent a year with McCarthy in San Francisco in 2005. "We speak on it as being the most important position in football," McCarthy said. "And I think it's important to always try to add to it if you can (but) it has to fit." The Steelers do have several needs outside of a young quarterback, including a versatile receiver to team with veterans DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., and at offensive tackle, a position that's in a state of flux as left tackle Broderick Jones --- their first-round pick in 2023 --- recovers from a neck injury that forced him to miss the last seven games of 2025. There is no timetable on when Jones might be ready, though he was with his teammates on Monday as part of the "medical group" as the Steelers held informal workouts. Khan said Jones was still "early in the process" and the injury means Pittsburgh will almost certainly decline Jones' fifth-year option for 2027, meaning they might head into the draft eyeing a longer-term solution to protect whoever might end up being the franchise quarterback the club has been searching for since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement in early 2022. Pittsburgh's dozen picks give Khan the option to use some of them as collateral if the team decides to trade up. There's also the chance he could trade down early in the draft to accumulate more capital. McCarthy seems fine either way. While he called the current roster a "nice mix" of older and younger players, the chance to add quality depth is never a bad thing. "Being above 10 (picks) I think would be awesome personally," McCarthy said. "I've always felt that the more players you have to develop, I think it definitely is, for the long term, a good process." ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl