With just a few months left in the 2025 season, it won’t be long before the Pittsburgh Steelers will be forced to figure out their options at quarterback in 2026. It certainly isn’t ideal to head into a fourth-straight offseason without an entrenched starter confirmed, but the front office had little choice after bringing in 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers made it clear around the time of his signing that this, his 21st season, would be his final run in the NFL. A quick interaction between him and DK Metcalf on Cam Heyward’s podcast opened up some hope that Rodgers would be open to a return in 2026, but the quarterback has since poured cold water on that idea, sticking with his initial decision.
But a lot of that happened before Rodgers showed the NFL world that he still has some gas left in the tank. He isn’t playing quite at the MVP level he held with the Green Bay Packers for the better part of 19 years, but he’s certainly playing to a level becoming of a late-career, future Hall of Famer. And should that continue through the end of the 2025 campaign, the front office may be inclined to join the players in asking Rodgers for one more season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t ruled out another season with Aaron Rodgers
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported that people within the Steelers organization are on board with Rodgers returning for a second season in Pittsburgh.
“The Steelers will scour the draft market for the QB of the future, for sure. They are already doing so. But if you ask people with the team whether they’d entertain the notion of Rodgers in the black-and-gold in 2026, the answer would be a resounding yes,” Fowler wrote. “He has maintained his elite ability to throw the football.”
Rodgers' game is more efficient these days than explosive. He’s kept the turnovers to a minimum while completing nearly 69% of his passes with 14 touchdowns, the fourth-highest mark in the NFL heading into Week 8. Rodgers has thrown a touchdown on 8.1% of his passes, the highest mark in the league. He’s also getting the ball out of his hands quicker than any other quarterback in the NFL, allowing him to be one of the least-sacked quarterbacks despite playing behind such an inexperienced offensive line.
It’s no wonder the Steelers would like to bring him back. The youth on the offensive front shows promising potential, and another year would help the entire unit gel. The same could be said for pass catchers like Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson, and Darnell Washington.
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Couple in the opportunity for the Steelers’ front office to have a full offseason knowing for certain that Rodgers is their quarterback, and Omar Khan and company would be able to better build around their veteran QB. All of that makes for a tantalizing option for a team that at times looks like they can turn the corner on their mediocre finishes in recent years if they don’t have to hit the reset button.
At the same time, Pittsburgh could still invest its draft resources in the quarterback of the future if Rodgers were to return. That would give the Steelers a year to groom and develop their quarterback of the future while maintaining competitiveness toward the postseason. That certainly sounds more appealing than Bill Cowher’s suggestion to bring in Joe Flacco as a bridge quarterback - or anyone else who would fit that bill.
Of course, it all comes down to Rodgers and how he feels at the end of the season. Who knows what it would take for Rodgers to decide to return? Take any believable conclusion to the end of Pittsburgh’s season, and there’s a spin that would suggest he should return. But the man himself is one of the biggest wildcards in the league. His signing with Pittsburgh in the first place is proof enough of that.