Bryan Steffy/WireImage; Mike Ehrmann/Getty Terry Bradshaw slammed the Pittsburgh Steelers' ongoing pursuit of Aaron Rodgers Rodgers, 41, has mulled retirement while remaining noncommittal to the Steelers Bradshaw played 14 seasons with the team during the 1970s and 1980s Terry Bradshawhad some strong words for his former team amid its ongoing courtship of free agentAaron Rodgers. The retired Hall of Fame quarterback, who played all 14 of hisNFL seasonswith the Pittsburgh Steelers, called his former team's pursuit of Rodgers, 41, "a joke.""That's a joke," Bradshaw, 76, said duringan interviewwith local KABZ in Little Rock, Ark. "That is just, to me, is a joke. What are you gonna do? Bring him in for one year? Are you kidding me?"Bradshaw, who was the Steelers' starting quarterback during the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s, added: "That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there." Rodgers remains an unsigned free agent this week as teams around the league have started its first leg of training camps for next season. The Steelers, who opted not to resign quarterbacksRussell WilsonandJustin Fields, are without a proven starting quarterback. Rodgers, who last played with the New York Jets in 2024, opted not to resign with his old team either. The pairing has seemed destined, but heavily delayed as Rodgers has also publicly mulled over the possibility of retiring from the NFL after 20 seasons. A onceSuper Bowl-winning quarterback for theGreen Bay Packers, Rodgers' on-field performance hasseverely declinedin recent yearsamid injuryandoff-the-fieldcareer moves. Rodgers recently appeared in a Netflix docuseries about his life and also contemplatedbecoming Robert F. Kennedy's running matein the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile, during his last two seasons with the Jets, Rodgers' use ofhallucinogenic drug retreatsand hisabsencefrom team workouts in the summertime have led to criticism as his results on the field waned. David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty "I'm in a different phase of my life," RodgersexplainedonThe Pat McAfee Showlast month. "I'm 41 years old, I'm in a serious relationship. I have off-the-field stuff going on that requires my attention. I have personal commitments I made not knowing what my future was going to look like after last year, that are important to me." Rodgers argued that he isn't "holding anybody hostage" with his indecision about playing next season, as the Steelers appear to be waiting to hear back. TheChico, Calif., nativealso said "retirement still could be a possibility, but right now my focus has been and will continue to be on my personal life." The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! John Lamparski/Getty Meanwhile, Bradshaw appeared to direct most of his frustration towards the Steelers' inability to grow a young quarterback since Ben Rothlisberger's 18-year run with the team. "I likedKenny Pickett," Bradshaw told KABZ about the team's former quarterback. "I liked him at Pitt. I know him, I know what he's like. When they got him to Pittsburgh, they didn't protect him, they didn't get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn't have an offensive line that could protect and they didn't have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of."Bradshaw continued: "Then they throw a kid in there for two years and you've got an offense that doesn't fit and doesn't work, and they can't run because their offensive line's not even good enough for a run blocking team. Now, they're saying Kenny Pickett is a failure. He wasn't a failure, the Steelers were a failure." Read the original article onPeople
