The calliope has stopped for the NFL’s game of musical chairs. Multiple teams had been waiting for Aaron Rodgers to pick a seat, any seat.
If he’s not going to do it any time soon, at what point does the chase for chairs continue without him?
The Steelers and Giants are seemingly waiting for Rodgers to make a decision before making moves with other veteran quarterbacks. Caught in the wash of Rodgers’s delay are players like Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, and (if a trade is possible from the Falcons) Kirk Cousins. With the Vikings reportedly not signing Rodgers “at this time” and with Rodgers potentially waiting to see whether J.J. McCarthy performs well enough during the offseason program to keep the Vikings from breaking glass in event of emergency, will the Steelers and Giants keep waiting, too? Or will they move on?
It’s more imperative for the Giants, who currently have one quarterback on the roster — journeyman who has yet to do much journeying Tommy DeVito. They desperately need someone, anyone on whom they can pin even a portion of their hopes for 2025. (They’ve brought in Wilson, Flacco, and Winston for visits in the past week.)
The Steelers have two quarterbacks on the roster: Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Rudolph performed well down the stretch for the Steelers in 2023, after the soft benching of Kenny Pickett (and before Rudolph wanted more than the Steelers were inclined to pay). Thompson, like Rudolph, has once started a playoff game in Buffalo. The Steelers seem to be in better position to let it ride through the draft than the Giants.
It’s also possible the Steelers and/or Giants could add a veteran with the understanding that, if Rodgers comes calling at some point down the road, the veteran will be sent packing. That will make the terms of any contract even more important; the fully guaranteed money at signing, or lack thereof, will shine plenty of light on whether the veteran is at risk of being thrown overboard if/when Rodgers shows up.
There’s also a chance that, if/when Rodgers decides to take a job with one of the team to which he has been linked, no jobs will be open. He surely understands this fact, and he seems to be willing to accept the risk that the chairs will be filled — and won’t be tipped over and emptied — if/when he finally decides to make his move.
On Wednesday’s PFT Live, I complained about Rodgers seemingly waiting to make his choice. It now seems that he’s strategically waiting for whether he’ll have a chance to choose the Vikings. Which, if true, raises a key question for the Steelers and Giants.
How long are you going to sit around and wait for Rodgers?
The Vikings have agreed to terms with free agent wide receiver Rondale Moore, the team announced Wednesday.
Moore, 24, visited the Vikings five days ago and also took trips to the Jets, Titans and Bears.
Moore was traded from the Cardinals to the Falcons ahead of the 2024 season, but he injured his right knee in training camp and missed the entire season.
Moore, 24, was a second-round pick of Arizona in 2021, and he spent three seasons in Arizona.
He had 135 catches for 1,201 yards and three touchdowns with the Cardinals, while also running 52 times for 249 yards and a score. Moore also saw time as a returner in his rookie season.
The Falcons have added some depth to their secondary.
Jordan Fuller is signing with the Falcons, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The 27-year-old Fuller was a 2020 sixth-round pick of the Rams who played four years in Los Angeles and then signed a one-year contract with the Panthers last year.
Last year Fuller opened the season as a starter for the Panthers but missed time with a hamstring injury and then was a healthy scratch for two games late in the season. The Falcons will hope he can earn playing time on defense, and he may also contribute on special teams in Atlanta.
Quarterback is back.
After a one-year hiatus, driven by the fact that the producers couldn’t find anyone to do it, the Netflix Quarterback series will return for 2025.
Netflix announced the move on Wednesday, with a trailer featuring the three subjects of the show: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Last year, the effort pivoted to a quintet of pass catchers, and it was dubbed Receiver.
The 2025 show will undoubtedly chronicle the trio of quarterbacks’ respective 2024 seasons, only one of which culminated in a playoff berth. And since the show won’t be landing until July, there’s a chance the storylines will trickle into the offseason — with Burrow pushing the Bengals to quit being so cheap with other players and with Cousins trying to finagle an exit from Atlanta.
Other obvious topics for consideration will be the December robbery of Burrow’s home by a group (allegedly) of Chilean nationals, the benching of Cousins for Michael Penix, Jr., and the failure of the Lions to get beyond the divisional round of the playoffs despite sky-high expectations.
The Rams have agreed to terms with inside linebacker Nate Landman on a one-year deal, the team announced Tuesday.
Landman, 26, spent the previous three seasons with the Falcons.
He appeared in 13 games with nine starts in 2024, seeing action on 544 defensive snaps and 71 on special teams. Landman totaled 81 tackles, three forced fumbles and a pass defensed.
He missed four games on injured reserve with a calf injury.
Landman entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Falcons in 2022.
He has recorded 192 tackles, three sacks, six forded fumbles, four passes defensed and one interception while starting in 23 of 36 games played in his career.
The Falcons signed cornerback Mike Ford to a two-year contract, the team announced Monday.
Ford spent the past two seasons with the Browns and played 33 of a possible 34 games. He saw action on 218 defensive snaps and 690 on special teams with the team.
Ford, 29, entered the NFL as a undrafted free agent in 2018, signing with the Lions. He spent three seasons in Detroit and also has played for the Broncos (2021) and Falcons (2022).
In his career, Ford has appeared in 94 games with 10 starts and has totaled 72 tackles and one interception on defense and 39 tackles on special teams.
The Falcons also made official the signings of defensive lineman Morgan Fox, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge and defensive linemen Ta’Quon Graham and Kentavius Street. All four were previously reported.
The Falcons have brought back one of their rotational defensive players.
Atlanta announced on Monday afternoon that the club has re-signed defensive lineman Kentavius Street.
The length of the deal was not disclosed.
Street, 28, has been with the Falcons since the club traded for him midway through the 2023 season. He appeared in 13 games in 2024, recording 15 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and a sack. He was on the field for 33 percent of defensive snaps and 14 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
A 49ers fourth-round pick in 2018, Street has appeared in 78 games with 10 starts for San Francisco, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. He’s recorded 8.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 15 QB hits.
It’s been roughly a week since the 2025 game of quarterback musical chairs began. Plenty of seats have been taken. Plenty remain.
The simple reality, for now, is that the music has stopped and everyone is waiting for Aaron Rodgers to pick a chair, any chair. Once he does, the other asses will fall onto their seats.
The general sense, for now, is that Russell Wilson will go after Rodgers. And that Joe Flacco will sign after Rodgers and Wilson.
The wild card is Kirk Cousins. If Rodgers signs with the Vikings, the Browns, Steelers, and Giants could decide to try make a trade with the Falcons.
Still, it starts with Rodgers. The only question is whether one of the other teams decide to sign someone else before Rodgers makes up his mind. The Giants have brought in three options — Wilson, Flacco, and most recently Jameis Winston. They could realize that Rodgers isn’t picking them and sign one of the others.
The Steelers also, in theory, could decide they’ve waited long enough. But they’ve got a bird in the hand in Mason Rudolph, so they can afford to keep waiting.
We’ll all keep waiting. Waiting for Rodgers to figure out whatever he’s going to do from July through December and maybe into January and possible early February.
Nice guys finish second string.
By allowing a $10 million roster bonus due next year to become fully guaranteed, the Falcons remain committed to the notion that Kirk Cousins will be the team’s backup quarterback, behind Michael Penix, Jr. Whether that’s true or just part of the ruse in advance of a trade remains to be seen.
Regardless, the Falcons have no qualms about squatting on Cousins’s contract.
Although Cousins has played the NFL contract game like a maestro, he’s always been a company man. He won’t make waves. He won’t cause a fuss. He won’t issue demands.
Maybe he should. More accurately, maybe he should have made a stink from the moment the Falcons pulled the rug out from under him last year, drafting Penix roughly six weeks after giving Cousins what is now $100 million in fully-guaranteed pay.
Remember when Cousins was asked whether he wouldn’t have signed with the Falcons, if he’d known that they’d use the eighth pick in the draft on his replacement? Cousins said he doesn’t want to address hypotheticals. He could have said, “It’s bullshit. They should have told me they were thinking about this. It would have been a factor in my decision. I’m not happy. And I’m not going to shut up about it.”
Cousins was a “pro’s pro” (i.e., obedient and compliant) when the Falcons benched him. He could have made a stink. He didn’t. And while it might have been counterproductive to do shirtless driveway situps or to have his agent hold a “next question” press conference on the front lawn, there’s a way to strategically, and legitimately, make enough of a fuss that the Falcons would think twice about keeping him around.
Meeting with the owner was all Cousins did. We don’t know what he specifically wanted. We don’t know what Blank said. Presumably, Cousins didn’t want what he currently has: A seat on the bench.
If he wants out, he’s going to have to rattle the cage. He’s going to have to express his displeasure. He’s going to need to challenge the team’s decision to pay him $27.5 million to not play.
Basically, he’s going to have to stop being a nice guy.
Free agent wide receiver Rondale Moore is meeting with another NFC North team.
Moore visited the Vikings last week and NFL Media reports that he is in Chicago to meet with the Bears on Monday.
Moore was traded from the Cardinals to the Falcons ahead of the 2024 season, but he suffered a knee injury that led to him missing the entire season. The 2021 second-round pick had 135 catches for 1,201 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona. He also ran 52 times for 249 yards and a score, and he saw time as a returner in his rookie season.
The Bears added wideout Olamide Zaccheaus as a free agent last week and have DJ Moore and Rome Odunze back from last season.
