Aaron

Rodgers

Pryor believes that the Steelers would like to know Rodgers’ intentions “sooner rather than later,” ideally before the NFL Combine for scouting purposes. During new head coach Mike McCarthy’s interview process, McCarthy reportedly laid out a plan to develop 2025 sixth-round pick, QB Will Howard, who missed most of last season due to a “freak” pinky finger injury. McCarthy is a “big fan” of Howard, though one wonders how big a fan he is, given Pryor’s comments about Rodgers’ decision-making timing regarding the NFL Combine.

Well here’s a whole news cycle for the next five months, anyway. Again, it’s hard to argue that there’s a better fate for the Steelers out there between the lack of non-No. 1 overall quarterbacks in this year’s draft and how diminished free agency looks this year. But if you were hoping for a quick retirement after Mike Tomlin gracefully resigned his position, we can welcome you back to the 2025 Offseason Part II. We’ll have more of the same for the next several blurbs on Rodgers.

“It would not be a surprise if Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh,” Pelissero says. Look for us to repeat some version of this blurb 20 times over the next five months, and after that perhaps we’ll get an actual resolution. Hiring Mike McCarthy — who Pelissero notes has spoken to Rodgers several times — surely put this in motion. Rodgers and the Steelers would also need to work out a contract for him to return.

Removing the part of our brain that understands what this really means is six more months of daily speculation about Aaron Rodgers coming back, it does make sense that win-now hire Mike McCarthy would want the best quarterback he could have. He has a pre-existing relationship with Rodgers, and Rodgers — clearly flawed at this point — is probably as good as the Steelers could hope to do at the position next year. Anyway, here’s to another offseason of this.

It’s hard to know how seriously to take these nuggets in January, especially when Howard is one of only two quarterbacks currently under contract with the Steelers. Howard was selected by the Steelers in the sixth round of last year’s draft and threw for 4,010-35-10 in his final college season with Ohio State on his way to winning a national championship. Given the current state of the Steelers’ quarterback room and the uncertainty surrounding Aaron Rodgers, it’s possible Howard gets a chance to compete for the starting job in camp, but the Steelers are all but certain to add another quarterback or two to their room this offseason, whether it’s via the draft or free agency.

Pelissero noted that this wouldn’t be the Steelers “trying to lure” Rodgers to come back, but instead frames it as “a bonus” that might not be available if Pittsburgh hired a different head coach with no previous relationship with Rodgers. Given how the Steelers seem locked into a mindset of trying to win games rather than rip it down to the studs, you can squint and understand how they’d come to McCarthy as a good option compared to the more unproven coaches in this hiring class. We will be writing blurbs about Aaron Rodgers until the end of time.

Schefter said Rodgers coming back to the Steelers for another season remains “unlikely” after head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down last week, but “Steelers players are more than open to Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh; they want the four-time league MVP back and conveyed as much to various members of the Steelers organization during their exit meetings last week.” Rodgers, 42, seemed considerably less miserable during his 2025 season in Pittsburgh after two difficult years with the Jets. Schefter said Rodgers, as usual, “wants to take time away before deciding his future.” Rodgers ranked 23rd out of 36 qualifying QBs in EPA per drop back in 2025.

While Rodgers’ future in the NFL remains uncertain, it’s become clear he’s unlikely to continue quarterbacking the Steelers next season. Rapoport’s report that the 42-year-old signal caller isn’t expected to return to Pittsburgh comes on the heels of Steelers owner Art Rooney II saying as much at his press conference earlier this week. Rooney made it clear that Rodgers joined the Steelers last year to play for Mike Tomlin, who stepped down immediately following the team’s loss in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Without Tomlin, there’s almost no chance of the Rodgers-Steelers partnership continuing. If Rodgers does ultimately decide to keep playing, there should be plenty of openings this offseason with the draft and free agency light on starting options. He’s still one final stop in Minnesota away from completing the Full Favre, though he engaged in discussions with the Vikings last offseason.

Rooney said during a Wednesday press conference that Rodgers came to Pittsburgh last offseason to “play for Mike [Tomlin].” With Tomlin parting ways with the Steelers on Tuesday, there’s vanishingly little chance Rodgers will return for a second season with the Steelers. Rodgers, 42, collapsed in the team’s Wild Card loss to the Texans, and did not answer post-game questions about his future in the NFL. NFL fans are likely in for another long offseason of Rodgers hinting he might come back if he finds the right situation. He engaged in talks with the Vikings last offseason.

The curtain call season from the veteran signal caller was far from pretty but he still managed to get the team into the postseason, a run that ended with a pitiful offensive showing against the league’s top defense. The Steelers went just 2-for-14 on third down and gained only 175 yards of total offense. Even so, the Steelers entered the fourth quarter down by only one point as their defense generated three turnovers to keep the team in the game. Rodgers is uncertain about his future (what’s new?) but has continued to hint that this would be his final season in the league, and ESPN’s broadcast seemed to intimate that he told them he was leaning towards retiring. His 21-year professional career could be over after amassing 66,274 yards, 527 touchdowns, and a 1.4% interception rate. The yards and touchdowns each rank in the top five in NFL history while his interception rate goes down as an NFL record. It certainly appears likely that the final pass attempt of Rodgers’ career will go down as a pick-six during Pittsburgh’s seventh straight playoff loss.