Last summer, Aaron Rodgers strongly indicated the 2025 campaign would be his last in the NFL. His one-year stint in Pittsburgh has gone well, though, and it could continue beyond tonight’s game. 
The Steelers have been willing to keep Rodgers in the fold for next season, and midway through the campaign it was reported Pittsburgh’s hope was for that to take place. The future Hall of Famer, meanwhile, has left the door open to playing at least one more year. It appears an extended arrangement would be welcomed by both parties.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirms (video link) there is a mutual interest between Rodgers and the Steelers to continue their partnership. The relationship between Rodgers and head coach Mike Tomlin remains strong, and Pittsburgh managed to win the AFC North this season with a 10-7 record. Aiming for a similar level of success in 2026 could obviously prove beneficial for all involved.
Rodgers’ legacy certainly took a hit during his Jets tenure, and a messy parting of ways with New York left his future unclear for much of last offseason. Limited free agent interest was shown, but a short-term Steelers pact long loomed as a reasonable proposition on both sides. A one-year deal was ultimately finalized, and it has proven to be worthwhile. Rodgers is now 42, but he missed only one game this season.
The four-time MVP did not match the statistical output of his best seasons, but an efficient passing output has proven sufficient in Pittsburgh this year. Improvements along the offensive line and at the receiver position would go a long way in providing a boost on offense for 2026. Keeping Rodgers in the fold would also give the unit a high floor next season.
The Steelers have been unable to find a long-term Ben Roethlisberger replacement since his retirement after the 2021 season. Efforts in the draft and along the free agent and trade routes have not yielded the desired results, but Rodgers has proven to be an effective stopgap option. Veteran Mason Rudolph and sixth-round rookie Will Howard are under contract for next season, so stability on the depth chart can be expected moving forward. It is unclear at this point if Rodgers will also be in the fold, but another deal being worked out with the Steelers would not come as a surprise.
How long is this road and how far down it can we kick the can?
Ask the Saints GM the same question about the cap.
With apologies to Sheryl Crow, Every Day is a Wind(y)ing Road, with Rodgers
At least last time they rode all the way down the long tail of a hall of fame quarterback’s career they had been the ones to get his prime and his Super Bowl win first.
Gawd, Aaron is going to be annoying calling games when he retires.
Closed captioning is going to become a very popular feature on your TV arty!…lol.
Plus we will have Draymond’s media career in the NBA soon. Dark times ahead!
Unless he gets hurt or stinks up the stadium tonight, I feel he will be back with Tomlin next season.
Well, he stunk so I guess he’ll be gone. His last pass was a pick 6. That’s rough for a HOF
The Vikings were the right choice, but they wanted to roll with McCarthy. Rodgers could come back with Pittsburgh, but unless they find two receivers and a lead back, there’s not any point. At 42, his job should be distributing the ball and perhaps the occasional big play. The Steelers really shouldn’t be counting on him to carry the offense with a single dangerous receiver right now.
Not a Steelers fan but Jaylen Warren was not the problem for the Steelers and had a really good year. Calvin Austin is just so small that having him on the outside was difficult for Rodgers to get passes to him on the sideline. I agree WR is needed but maybe just one would suffice.DK needs a Robin to his batman.
DK just aint batman lol Steelers should aim to draft a true 1
It starts with the GM. They’ve gone two seasons with one dangerous wideout. No one else is able to get open
It extends to Tomlin, the most overrated coach in the NFL. I think he’s a good man and like him personally, but it’s time to move on
And that means taking the OC and DC with him
If there is a worse play caller than Arthur Smith, please name him
Then there is the team. Lots of old deadwood.
Tear it down. Trade what you can. Rebuild and take your lumps.
I agree with a lot of what you said, particularly about Khan. While I think that they can upgrade from Smith, though, I can definitely name you worse playcallers. I think that the Eagles, for example, would have a nominee…
I put 80% of the Steelers’ woes this year on Khan, personally. He’s had some good moves, and there’s still time to fix things (it’s going to take a really great offseason, though, because another year like this one would put him on a hot seat for sure), but the roster was almost bare this year and it showed painfully on the field. Could you imagine where they’d be without Boswell?
I see them running it back this year with the Tomlin-Khan-Rodgers-Watt-Heyward(?) build. It’ll give them one last chance before the 2027 draft, where current best hope for QBs seem to be for the moment. If this next year is anything like this one, meaning falling short of the AFC Championship at least, I think that the house cleaning will finally happen. It’ll be an even twenty years for Tomlin, after all, which seems to be neat enough for them.
Agreed but my caveat would be that Tomlin is the face of the franchise and really is grand Poobah of everything. Nothing happens without his consent. As such, I can’t just blame Khan. And truthfully, I’d be happier with Weidl calling the shots on personnel
But you’re right. They’ll likely run it back one more time. More mediocrity.
I don’t think Khan/Tomlin were crazy to look at Fields last year. It’s nearly impossible to win in the playoffs with an immobile QB with a less-than-stellar arm. (Unless the play caller is a made genius. Sorry, Arthur.) But Fields can’t process information well enough to be a franchise QB. So they were stuck with Russ and Rodger, who were no better than Ben at the end of his career.
They can clean house this year … or next year … or the next year. But it has to happen.
Or … mad genius. Damn autocorrect.
I love that a pick 6 is his last play. Guy was very good for about 6 years and then a total pos with nonsensical flat earth and vax theories. Nut job.
Go away.
Mediocre mainstreamers with MSM world view would do well not to comment on the ideas of people outside the Maxtrix.
They could have drafted a kid like Schough, an “older” kid coming out for the draft. In fact, he was number one on my list having seen him a number of times. But instead, yes, they kicked the can down the road and will do so again.
I hope Rodgers throws for 400 yards tonight but it’s odd to me that while most teams look to get younger, the Steelers look to get older and more feeble
They literally did draft and “older” kid coming out of the draft in Will Howard after winning the natty. Im not sure what youre whining about here
Will Howard will likely be a lifetime clipboard holder. Schough will be a starter. Is it just stupidity on your part or is reading comprehension difficult for you?
Yes thank you for your hindsight 20/20 analysis. You complained that they didnt draft an “older” QB prospect when they did just that. How smooth is your brain bro?
Liberal sports “writers” heads explode. Love the see/hear it….
The biggest head exploding is that of “The Human AI” Mike Lupica whose NFL expertise can be summed up as “It’s All About The Quarterback”.
Houston shot that premise dead with a box full of .30-06 rifle ammunition.
What the hell is a “liberal ” sports writer?
A failed msnbc/cnn wannabe.
Always has to be about politics with some people.
So glad that I am able to contemplate nearly everything in life without relating it to politics.
How tiring it must be to come across a conversation about whether some aging athlete is the right choice for a team, and somehow see that as a battle with woke libs.
Now let’s do the Golden Globes.
Yet, Rodgers has been defined by a personal decision, that proved to be 100% correct, by unhinged “sports” reporters who can’t stand he was proven right and Dr mengele/fauci was proven wrong.
One season was enough. Gonna be Big Ben 2.0 if they bring AR back …
Of course his legacy took a hit playing for the Jets!! When you play for a bottom feeder and dumpster fire and a piece of garbage franchise your legacy will take a hit!!! Fortunately for him he played for 2 NFL blue bloods between that 2 year nightmare. Good for Rodgers if he wants to continue playing
From Google: Aaron Rodgers has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for the New York Jets, first confirming his intention in March 2023 on The Pat McAfee Show after his trade from the Packers, stating he wanted to play in New York and felt the Jets offered a good opportunity with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett…
Aaron chose the Jets. He very well should have known it was a dumpster fire franchise. Joe Namath is probably 85 now for sake.
The thing is that the Steelers weren’t that good when he played for them.
He’ll win you 9-10 games, which is the Steelers MO!
My favorite comment from the post,” The relationship between Rodgers and head coach Mike Tomlin remains strong, and Pittsburgh managed to win the AFC North this season with a 10-7 record. Aiming for a similar level of success in 2026 could obviously prove beneficial for all involved.
Yeah that’s about right…
Answer coming the day after minicamp completes. Until then just stop, but they wont. Dear God they won’t.
They need to get rid of OC Smith, that guy is just brutal.
Maybe, but what weapons do they have? No matter who the coordinator is, Pittsburgh’s not getting results with the makeup of their skill positions. The line’s getting better, too, but still not necessarily great. They could probably do better than Smith, but they definitely need a ton of help at receiver and running back, too.
I think the tandem between Gainwell and Warren isnt that bad, but yes they do need an upgrade at WR. They probably go WR with their 1st round pick, the value would be appropriate and the positional need is clearly there too
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that it’s a bad tandem, but it’s just not that good, either. Either Gainwell or Warren on his own is a good number two back, there just isn’t a real number one that consistently can get yardage, especially inside.
Warren just has to be superhuman in making a guy miss on most of his carries, or he gets hit for a loss. Gainwell caught fire later in the year, and the line blocked really well for him on a few big runs, but he’s really a great receiving back that adds value in that area. Despite their obvious strengths, though, there were just too many times that they got stuffed inside or had to resort to the short passing game ir screens to try and get yards that normally should have been had in the run game. While both Gainwell and Warren did their part, it just seems like Pittsburgh can upgrade there pretty readily to me.
Saquon Barkley could not have done anything more with that Steelers OL. The Steelers need some more high quality linemen to pave the way and protect the QB.
I think the Steelers would be better suited to go after WR and OL and plug some holes in their secondary before RB. While it can use an upgrade surely, its almost a luxury upgrade for them in their current state
Even with basic talent on offense they should’ve had a better showing than that mess last night. They would’ve been blown out even more had HOU QB not kept turning the ball over. Bottom line, is you know HOU pass rush is better than your OL and you have a static QB. Every play I wondered WTF are they doing on offense? It was clear early on that throwing a player the ball wasn’t doing anything. No creativity or planning at all.
Minnesota has interest now
Please, no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. Bye Tomlin too
Laugh emoji
I can see it. Let’s him play one more out while PIT uses him as a bridge to the 2027 draft.
For God sakes Steelers let go of the past and get into the present. One let the 42 old HOF QB retire as he should, if not might as well bring Rivers in at 45 and while you’re at it why don’t you call Big Ben I’m sure for enough money he’ll give you a game or two, enough with the legends. Now you passed on QB’s this pass off season that made more sense like drafting Dart or signing a FA like Darnold. The Steelers are a mediocre team, until they decide to draft a future QB that has the talents to be a number one QB. But bringing in a 40ish QB for a one-year wonder season is not the way to go. You’re just wasting another season if Rodgers comes back next season.
Dude is mentally weak.
Aaron Rodgers was a legendary mobile quarterback, a pioneer in the art of throwing on the move and a 4-time MVP. At this point, Rodgers struggles to jog. Yes, he has what he needs upstairs but he’s more or less a statue in the pocket. There’s not many offensive lines in the NFL who can keep up with the better pash rushing teams if their quarterback does not have a modicum of mobility.
Rodgers’ play while it still flashes brilliance is a shadow of his former self. Another year won’t do him or his reputation any good. Another year will keep the Steelers in break-even hell (9-8, 8-9) at best.
Time for a legend to retire (it would have been better to skip the detour to the Jets completely, Rodgers should have targeted the team with the best offensive line & wide receivers and best playoff hopes in 2023 for one last run. After the achilles injury in 2023 which eliminated that season, Rodgers should have retired point-blank with a single year settlement. There was no way he was coming back from a season-ending achilles injury at 40 and he hasn’t.
Well this didn’t age well. Tomlin announced this morning that he’s out. Steelers are now added to the coaching carousel. Maybe Aaron will become a Viking next year since Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have indicated that they want a veteran presence in the QB room next year. Tomlin in the broadcast booth and Aaron at U.S. Bank Stadium?
I agree, that’s the best option. I could see Rodgers retiring, but for the pick six weighing on him. Other than that, and the Vikings possibility, there’s not much there. He’s closer to 2015 Manning than 2020 Brady because of his injuries, but Rodgers can still throw. The Vikings’ offense is MUCH better than Pittsburgh’s, so if he has a shot, it’s there.