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Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t looking beyond Sunday’s win-or-go-home regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, putting questions about his future on hold.
Rodgers admitted Wednesday he hasn’t “thought about” returning to Pittsburgh next season after his one-year contract expires, but he’s realistic about what lies ahead.
“I’m thinking about this week, but obviously I’m 42 years old and I’m on a one-year deal,” he said. “So you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. 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.”
The four-time MVP signed a $13.65 million contract with Pittsburgh in June, and his experience with the Steelers has exceeded expectations.
“I’ve enjoyed this experience, and everybody in Pittsburgh has been fantastic to me on and off the field. It’s really what I was hoping for this experience was, it’s been even better than I was hoping.”
This positive assessment comes six months after Rodgers told The Pat McAfee Show that 2025 would likely be his final NFL season.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is it,” Rodgers said back in June. “That’s why we just did a one-year deal. Steelers didn’t need to put any extra years on that or anything, so this was really about finishing with a lot of love and fun and peace for the career that I’ve had.”
“I played 20 fricking years. It’s been a long run.”
Rodgers has clearly developed a strong bond with head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh organization during his short tenure.
“You always think about the what-if and the alternative timelines of your life,” Rodgers reflected Wednesday. “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 Bake [Matt Baker] 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.”
While Rodgers mentioned consulting his wife when making his future decision, he kept specifics vague. The quarterback – who recently compared himself to “Benjamin Button” – hopes his choice will be driven by desire rather than physical limitations.
“I hope I can get through this stretch and feel good physically so that’s not in the conversation,” he said.
Since joining Pittsburgh, Rodgers has guided the team to a 9-7 record while keeping them in contention for the AFC North title. His season stats include 3,028 passing yards, 23 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions, and a 65.6% completion rate.
Room for Improvement
When asked if he’s played the kind of football he wanted to this season, Rodgers acknowledged the learning curve of a first-year offense.
“At times, yeah, definitely,” Rodgers said. “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.”
He added: “We’ve done the best we could with our conversations and our meeting time outside the facility and our meeting time in the facility. But obviously the more years you get in the system with the same guys, the more continuity you have, the better you feel like you can play.”
The Steelers face this must-win situation partly because of Rodgers’ struggles against Cleveland last week. Playing without top receiver DK Metcalf, he completed just 53.8% of his passes for 168 yards – one of four games this season where he’s been under 55% completion rate.
Rodgers isn’t worried about consecutive poor performances, however.
“I don’t have a lot of stinkers back-to-back over the years,” he said confidently. “So it’s the same mindset every week, same approach. Just expect greatness. And when it doesn’t happen, you don’t shift up the plan. You just keep on going and trust the process.”
