It took a little longer than originally expected, but defensive lineman Dean Lowry is now officially back with the Steelers.
The team announced that Lowry has signed a one-year deal on Tuesday. Lowry joined the Steelers in 2024 and missed last season after tearing his ACL.
Word that Lowry would return to the Steelers surfaced last month, but the deal was never finalized. A report at the time indicated that Lowry wanted to continue to work himself into playing shape before signing with any team.
Lowry had five tackles and a sack in 12 games for the Steelers in 2024. He had 14 tackles and a fumble recovery in nine 2023 games for the Vikings and 252 tackles, 15.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and four fumble recoveries in seven seasons with the Packers.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said that, when he’s done playing, he plans to disappear. He seems to be doing his best to disappear while he’s playing.
An interesting exchange happened during Rodgers’s first press conference this week, after re-signing with the Steelers. Here it is:
Q: “We saw the video you getting ice cream over the weekend. You said you’ve been here since early May. What kind of other things have you been up to since you’ve been in town?”
A: “I’m not gonna tell you what I do in my personal time. You already saw I went to that ice cream spot.”
Q: “Are you surprised there weren’t other sightings of you until now? Is that intentional?”
A: “Was it intentional to be sighted?
Q: “To not be sighted.”
A: “No, I just live my life.”
It was a strangely combative response from Rodgers, even if he delivered it (as he often does) with the hint of a wry smile. Why not just say something like, “I’ve been getting reacquainted with Pittsburgh”? Or maybe something like, “I’ve just been relaxing a little bit before getting back to work”?
The reporter wasn’t trying to pry, or to play a game of “gotcha” with Rodgers. It was an innocent and innocuous question. It reflected honest curiosity. Rodgers came to town more than a week before signing his contract. The question created an opportunity for Rodgers to deliver a normal, human response.
It’s his right to protect his privacy. But that can be done without acting like he’s Marlon Brando.
When playing a high-profile position with a high-profile NFL franchise that remains the biggest thing in the relatively small big city where Rodgers has chosen to play, it’s hard to keep a low profile. Rodgers apparently intends to do that this season, even after declaring that 2026 will be his farewell tour.
Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones had spinal fusion surgery this offseason and it remains unclear when he will be able to play again.
Jones is able to do individual work at Steelers OTAs, but has not been cleared for team drills and Jones said this week that no one has set a date when they think his neck will be ready for next steps.
“I don’t really have a timeline,” Jones said, via Chris Harlan of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Reivew. “They didn’t really give me a timeline,” he said. “They’re just monitoring it day by day, and we go from there.”
It’s also unclear what role Jones will have if he’s cleared. Jones was the left tackle in Pittsburgh, but they drafted Max Iheanachor in the first round last month and declined Jones’ fifth-year option. That signals what their future plans are at the position and the rookie could cement a hold on the job by the time Jones is able to play.
“It’s all a business at the end of the day,” Jones said. “I’m coming off a neck injury. Nobody knows what the future holds for me. Of course, they have to do what they do to protect themselves at the end of the day. I don’t have any ill will or anything toward them. I’m down to help Max wherever he needs me. Because at the end of the day, all of us got to be ready.”
Jones appeared in 45 games and made 38 starts over his first three seasons in Pittsburgh.
By announcing on Wednesday that this will be his final season, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has established 2026 as a farewell tour.
It’s an unusual move for franchise quarterbacks. Tom Brady didn’t do it. Peyton Manning didn’t, either. Drew Brees didn’t. Matt Ryan didn’t. Philip Rivers didn’t. Ben Roethlisberger privately told others that 2021 would be his final season.
Rogers is the only quarterback in recent memory to do a 2014 Derek Jeter-style farewell tour. And that’s Rodgers’s prerogative. But it could become a distraction for him and the team, especially in December.
It also could make the Steelers a magnet for late-season flexing decisions; if no specific game stands out in a given prime-time slot, showcasing Rodgers becomes an obvious choice.
All of this assumes 2026 will indeed be Rodgers’s last season. He’s not required to retire. He can continue for as long as he wants, and for as long as a team will give him a spot on the roster.
Regardless, he has done something few high-end quarterbacks do. Nearly four months before the first game of the 2026 season, Rodgers has let it be known that his 22nd season will be his last.
Mason Rudolph was competing for the Steelers’ starting job . . . until he wasn’t.
Aaron Rodgers’ return this week has Rudolph now competing for the backup job to Rodgers. Will Howard and Drew Allar, who have never appeared in a regular-season game, are the other quarterbacks on the roster.
Rudolph expects the Steelers to have a veteran backup to Rodgers, and that veteran is him.
“This is a veteran team,” Rudolph said, via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’re trying to win now. You don’t bring back Aaron Rodgers if you don’t want to win now.”
Rudolph, who turns 31 in July, has started 19 games and appeared in 31 since the Steelers drafted him in 2018.
“We want to make a playoff push,” Rudolph said. “And I know that I can contribute with that veteran culture.”
Rudolph, though, knows he will not get as many reps as the other quarterbacks on the roster. The Steelers want to get Rodgers ready for his final season, while developing Howard and Allar.
“That’s kind of been communicated,” Rudolph said. “That was the case when I got in [the league]. That’s a normal mode of operation.”
Rudolph said he will take advantage of every rep he does get.
Coach Mike McCarthy has said the Steelers could keep all four quarterbacks on their 53-player roster, but either way, Rudolph expects to remain in Pittsburgh for yet another season.
“I’m here to learn my offense,” Rudolph said. “My plans are to be here and to be on this team and to help in whatever fashion I can — and will.”
