Aaron Rodgers still doesn’t know what will happen with his future in the NFL next year. However, according to a report by Ian Rapoport, Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have made a final decision. They would welcome the quarterback back for one more season.
“If you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, you have to have a quarterback of the future at some point. So, let’s say you draft someone. You bring a young and unproven player potentially. Who better than Aaron Rodgers to come mentor that player? That actually makes a lot of sense. We know it has been a good experience for the Steelers too. We know they’ll welcome him back. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work.”
Rodgers will become a free agent in 2026, but at the moment there is no certainty about whether he plans to retire from football. The quarterback has said that he feels very comfortable playing in Pittsburgh, although if a Super Bowl contender needs him, the veteran could try a new team.
Is Aaron Rodgers retiring from the NFL?
Aaron Rodgers has not publicly said that he is retiring, so all options remain available: free agency, the Steelers, or a definitive goodbye to the NFL. According to Rapoport, the setting of the final game against the Ravens could be the ideal moment to say farewell in a big way.
“Aaron Rodgers really does have the opportunity to do something that he and really anyone would want, which is just to go out the right way. Go out playing some good football for a good team in a high stakes game. Everyone wants to end it like Jerome Bettis, but not everybody gets that. So, if Aaron Rodgers goes out, plays well on a big stage, even if he ends up losing, he’ll have gone out the right way. I think he can make some peace with this.”
The result of that game between the Steelers and the Ravens will determine much of what happens with Rodgers. A victory would give him the opportunity to go to the playoffs, showing that he is ready to lead a contender. However, a loss could prompt his retirement or a search for one last championship elsewhere.
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