The NFL world may be holding its breath as it waits for Aaron Rodgers’ decision on his future, but his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates have already made their minds up.
The veteran quarterback, 42, has been plunged into NFL limbo once again after his season with the Steelers came to an end in January.
Rodgers and Pittsburgh were eliminated from the playoffs in the AFC Wild Card round by a crushing 30-6 defeat to the Houston Texans, leaving the signal caller weighing up retiring or playing on.
And nowhere is anticipating his answer more than in Pittsburgh, where his Steelers teammates from the past season are eagerly hoping he returns.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed on Monday that Pittsburgh’s players resoundingly want Rodgers to play next season in the black and yellow.
‘When they had the exit meetings with the Pittsburgh Steelers players … they all wanted Aaron Rodgers back,’ the NFL insider said on the Pat McAfee Show.
Aaron Rodgers in yet again in NFL limbo as he considers retirement in the football offseason
Rodgers, 42, and Pittsburgh were eliminated from the playoffs in the AFC Wild Card round
‘The one thing that was conveyed to me was how much respect and love there was from other teammates about Aaron Rodgers and how much they wanted him back.’
Last year, Rodgers had agonized over his NFL future for months after being released by the New York Jets in March.
His drawn-out NFL limbo was finally ended in June when he signed a one-year deal with the Steelers, who had patiently waited for his decision amid a turbulent time in Rodgers’ personal life.
However, this time around, the team has given him a stricter timeline. According to Schefter, Pittsburgh plans to give Rodgers a month to decide about his future with the team, meaning the franchise likely expects an answer before the start of the league year and free agency on March 11.
‘The idea of that point of time was to give him about a month,’ Schefter continued. ‘Give him some time to think about things, process things, and in that time, they go and hire Mike McCarthy. They didn’t hire Mike McCarthy to bring back Aaron Rodgers, but I don’t think that hurts the situation at all, if anything it helps it.’
As mentioned by Schefter, the Steelers’ hopes of Rodgers returning were boosted by the hiring of Mike McCarthy to replace the outgoing Mike Tomlin as head coach.
Rodgers is believed to have been a big fan of Tomlin, but the appointment of McCarthy could be enough to lure him back to Pittsburgh.
McCarthy is obviously familiar with his game. The 62-year-old Pittsburgh native started Rodgers for 172 regular and postseason games during their 11 years together in Green Bay, winning the Packers’ fourth Super Bowl title along the way.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, who coached Rodgers to a Super Bowl title
Rodgers has regularly worn a ring on his wedding finger but his wife has never been seen
Last year, Rodgers revealed that tragedy in his personal life, with multiple members of his inner circle said to be battling cancer, had forced him to put his decision on hold.
Meanwhile, he also tied the knot with his mystery wife, reporting to Steelers’ camp with a wedding band on his finger.
Rodgers first revealed in June that he had been married for ‘a couple of months’, placing the wedding in around March or April, but he was scant on details.
He declined to name who he married, although he said in a December 2024 episode of the Pat McAfee Show that he was dating someone named Brittani, who was a ‘private person,’ at the time.
Rodgers has never been seen in public with his wife, who remains one of the league’s biggest mysteries, with even his teammates and their partners describing her as a ‘phantom.’