PITTSBURGH — How long was this darkness retreat anyway?

On Sunday night, when the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf and agreed to terms on a five-year, $150 million contract extension, their offseason took on a different feel. After months of courting wide receivers, they finally and impressively snagged the best one available.

Monday didn’t quite pack the same punch.

They signed six-time Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay, cut Larry Ogunjobi and curiously added another linebacker (Malik Harrison), but all of that took a backseat to the lingering question of who will throw passes to Metcalf, George Pickens and others.

Our visit into that quiet cave apparently lasted long enough for Aaron Rodgers to become the most sensible option available.

Go figure.

Rodgers, 41, honestly excites me more than Russell Wilson or Daniel Jones … which, in fairness, really isn’t saying much. It’s simply that I’m rooting for the theater, believe a 5-12 season wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Steelers and can maybe — maybe — see a world where Rodgers has enough left to have one more good season.

It’s just crazy to think about the entire thing in totality.

Team president Art Rooney II said not long ago the Steelers would like to sign a quarterback before getting a wide receiver or two because the former might determine the latter. Fair. But then the Steelers reversed course and did the second part first.

Rooney also said the preference would be an in-house option a year after he threw his faith behind Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks overpaid for Sam Darnold (three years, $110.5 million, $55 million guaranteed), and the Jets did the same for Justin Fields (two years, $40 million, $30 million guaranteed).

The biggest headline to include the words Steelers and quarterback somehow became the Browns trading for Kenny Pickett because … well, of course they did. Who says they don’t allow Super Bowl rings in Cleveland?

That Rodgers could come to Pittsburgh still feels simultaneously like the most logical option here and borderline insane. How?

We’re talking about a quarterback who has made a habit out of saying ridiculous things coming to a place where the head coach wants to control everything.

Shoot, Rodgers’ work on the "Pat McAfee Show," should it continue, might make Ben Roethlisberger's old radio show seem like an elementary school assembly. Wild at times. But relatively tame in comparison.

The Aaron Rodgers Show in Pittsburgh would produce riveting theater, even if there are plenty of fair questions.

Will Rodgers not get sacked a billion times?

What happened to the supposed emphasis placed on quarterback mobility?

Are there UFOs in Pittsburgh?

OK, the last one probably won't come up during any potential media availability at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The same for Rodgers' experimentation with ayahuasca, a psychedelic plant brew originating from the Amazon rainforest, or his thoughts on vaccines.

But it is a long season. You never know.

Mostly, the Steelers must weigh the fit between Rodgers, Wilson, Jones and perhaps someone else to get the ball to a pair of demanding (but talented) wide receivers in Metcalf and Pickens.

The strangest part: Rodgers might actually be most qualified among the remaining group to do it.

Sure, an argument can be made that the Steelers screwed this up by letting Fields walk. I don't feel that way.

The Jets overpaid because they had to, and good for Fields. Get all you can while you can. But you can't convince me that paying him $20 million per season makes sense. I'm also OK with avoiding a world where Darnold commands that much money. Not worth the risk.

Why I'm at least reasonably OK with the Rodgers thing is because it comes with more acceptable outcomes than anything else on the table.

Wilson will likely want multiple years, and we know how that looks. No thanks. With Rodgers, you'd have to think it's a one-year deal. Jones getting a bridge contract like Darnold had with the Vikings last year could be palatable, but I'll still take the pure entertainment value of Rodgers.

Assuming, of course, Ben Roethlisberger didn't put that helmet on and suddenly get inspired to attempt a comeback.

Kidding. I think.

Viewed through a hallucinogenic prism, what if Rodgers was so motivated to be part of Steelers history, to play for Mike Tomlin and show he has one last flourish that this actually amounts to something? That Metcalf and a motivated Pickens (in need of a next contract) make life easier for the future Hall of Famer?

At his best, Rodgers has minimized interceptions, a trait Tomlin obviously loves. The problem: That hasn't happened recently. The change was Rodgers' Achilles' injury and a stint with the Jets. You can fix one, not the other.

If this Hail Mary of a storyline happens — remember Rodgers completes those passes better than anyone — the Steelers should scrap the Arthur Smith way of doing things and let Rodgers run the show, audibles and all. Lean into the whole thing and hope it doesn't come tumbling down.

Or, on second thought, maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing.

Wilson would represent positivity, the same old, another pursuit of 10-7 or 9-8. I don't want that. Neither do you.

Rodgers clicking here would produce a sexy storyline the Pittsburgh sports scene sorely needs. If it flops, it would net the top-10 draft pick the Steelers will require to find their quarterback of the future.

I don't know what sort of wackiness led us to this point, where Aaron bleepin' Rodgers represents the Steelers' best path forward, but I'm here for it.

Let's get weird.

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