Ian Rapoport reports that while it remains to be seen if Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers will retire, Pittsburgh would love to have him back in 2026 as they view this past season as a success.
When asked, Rodgers kept the focus on the present but did acknowledge he’ll have some options to weigh. Back in June, he said he expected this to be his final season. On Wednesday, he was less definitive.
“I’m thinking about this week, but obviously I’m 42 years old and I’m on a one-year deal,” he said via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “So you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. I mean, not a lot of options, but there’ll be options, I would think, maybe one or two if I decide I still want to play.
“I’ve enjoyed this experience, and everybody in Pittsburgh has been fantastic to me on and off the field. And it’s really what I was hoping for this experience was, it’s been even better than I was hoping.”
Rodgers went on to say he has loved his time with the Steelers this year, so it stands to reason a return to Pittsburgh would be on the table. For their part, the Steelers have made it clear at various points this year that they would welcome Rodgers back in 2026.
“You always think about the what-ifs and the alternative timelines of your life,” Rodgers said. “But if I hadn’t taken this path, I never would have met so many guys in the locker room who I now call close friends and wouldn’t have the experiences and the memories on the field wouldn’t have been able to be in the room with Tom Arth again and [Matt Baker] Bake and be able to play for Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin. And I feel like there would be a little hole in my life missing without having this chapter. So I’m thankful for this time.”
The quarterback has been able to put some space in between a broken wrist he suffered earlier this season and has played through the injury after missing one game. He told reporters his hope is to make a decision about playing in 2026 purely based on his desire, not his health.
“I hope I can get through this stretch and feel good physically so that’s not in the conversation,” he said.
He also admitted the possibilities of another year of continuity in Smith’s offense intrigued him.
“At times, yeah, definitely,” Rodgers said, asked if he’d played the kind of ball he wanted to play this season. “Anytime you’re in a first-year offense, there’s always some growing pains within the offense. It’s always like you feel like, if you had another year, what you could do.”
Rodgers, 41, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension that included over $100 million guaranteed in 2018
Rodgers was owed a base salary of $25 million in the final year of his deal in 2022 when he agreed to a three-year, $150 million extension with $101 million of the deal guaranteed.
After one year, the Packers traded him to the Jets for a package that included a second-round pick in 2023 and a conditional 2024 second that could become a first.
He played just four snaps in 2023 before tearing his Achilles in Week 1, but returned as the Jets’ quarterback for the 2024 season. New York released him with a June 1 designation after the season.
He then went on to sign a one-year deal with the Steelers.
In 2025, Rodgers has appeared in 10 games for the Steelers and completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 1,969 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
We’ll have more on Rodgers and the Steelers as the news is available.
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