Standing in front of a sea of cameras more suited for the week ahead of a conference championship game rather than what Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin calls “football-lite” in June, Aaron Rodgers made a compelling case that the coda he is trying to author in Pittsburgh is about something deeper.

“A lot of decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling,” the 41-year-old quarterback said Tuesday after the first day of Pittsburgh’s mandatory minicamp. “But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So this was a decision that was best for my soul.”

And one the Steelers believe is best for business, one of the reasons they put no pressure on Rodgers during the spring as he dealt with off-the-field issues that he’s said included having multiple people in his inner circle battle cancer.

Rodgers said those issues “have improved a bit,” clearing the way for him to join Tomlin and a team that has bounced from one quarterback to another since Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season.

The Chico native and former Cal quarterback revealed more personal news late in his 13-minutes session with reporters, confirming that he was married “a couple months” ago but declining to get into details. He was spotted wearing what looked like a wedding band in a picture the Steelers shared when he signed his contract.

Rodgers has revealed little about his bride. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last fall, he mentioned he was dating a woman named Brittani but offered no other details.

His previous dating history includes long-term relationships with race car driver Danica Patrick and actors Olivia Munn and Shailene Woodley.

Rodgers might be ready to take the practice field for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

T.J. Watt is not.

The star outside linebacker skipped the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. Watt likely is eyeing a new deal as he enters the final year of his current contract.

The seven-time Pro Bowler and 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed a four-year extension in September 2021 that was scheduled to pay him $112 million and made him the highest-paid defender in the league at the time.

That number has been eclipsed several times over the last four years, including by Cleveland star Myles Garrett, who signed a deal in March that made him the best-compensated non-quarterback in the league at $40 million a season.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson was also absent at the opening day of minicamp on Tuesday as he seeks a new contract.

Hendrickson, an All-Pro selection after leading the league with 17.5 sacks, is looking for a long-term contract with a significant chunk of guaranteed money, and he said the Bengals were just offering a short-term deal. He is expected to be fined for his absence, as coach Zac Taylor warned last month.

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook put aside his contract concerns — and avoided the potential of being fined — by attending the start of the team’s three-day mandatory series of practices on Tuesday.

Cook’s attendance comes after he went public with his desire to negotiate a contract extension while entering the fourth and final year of his rookie deal. He was the NFL’s co-leader in rushing touchdowns with 16 last year, and skipped Buffalo’s six previous spring practices and month-long workout sessions, all of which were voluntary.