After all the drama, all the drawn-out decisions and changes of heart and relentless speculation about his legendary quarterback’s intentions, Mike McCarthy finally snapped.
It happened during an afternoon practice at Clarke Hinkle Field, where the Green Bay Packers were staging one of the NFL’s most surreal training camps of the 21st Century. I was among the thousands who witnessed that choppy, sloppy session back in August of 2008, part of a days-long Summer of Favre sojourn that dominated my journalistic reality.
By the time I left Titletown, Brett Favre had been traded to the New York Jets, allowing the Aaron Rodgers Era — at last — to proceed as planned. That resolution was a direct result of McCarthy’s frustration, an emotion enunciated by the third-year coach in a consequential team meeting that took place a few hours after the “lousy” practice that pushed him over the edge.
Eighteen years later, McCarthy is a far more unflappable man. That’s fortunate, given his current situation. Less than four months into his tenure as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth head coach since 1969, McCarthy must once again navigate the uncertainty surrounding a legendary quarterback’s plans.
This time, of course, Rodgers is the one responsible for the melodrama, albeit a far tamer manifestation of it than the madness Favre generated in his final days in Green Bay.
Then again, there’s another important difference between the Summer of Favre and the second consecutive A-Rod Spring. In 2008, the Packers had a viable fallback plan: a willingness to hand the ball to a former first-round draft pick who’d spent three years developing into an heir apparent.
The 2026 Steelers? Not so much. They’re praying Rodgers, who’ll turn 43 this season, will get back in the ring to take another swing.
Otherwise — at least on paper — they don’t seem to have a puncher’s chance of getting back to the playoffs.
Chances are, it will all work out. Last year, the Steelers announced that Rodgers had agreed to a one-year contract in early June, less than a week before the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp. If Rodgers follows that same timeline in 2026, he’ll get his deal done in late May and report for the minicamp that begins June 2.
Yet as with all matters concerning Rodgers in the latter stages of his outstanding career, things have gotten a little weird. Nothing too extreme thus far — no darkness retreat, ayahuasca journey or draft-night hijacking — but still, enough to make the Steelers feel just a bit uneasy.
Back in late March, Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II told reporters he expected Rodgers to decide on his future by the NFL Draft. When that didn’t happen, the Steelers made a seemingly bizarre procedural move, placing the seldom-used “unrestricted free agent tender” on the quarterback.
The tag sets up the team for a compensatory draft pick should Rodgers decide to sign elsewhere, permits Rodgers to play only for Pittsburgh once training camp begins and, if unsigned by Week 10, precludes him from playing anywhere in 2026 absent a finding of “extreme hardship” by an independent arbitrator. Boxing him in felt a bit aggressive, in light of the previously expressed optimism from organizational sources. And given that no other team has been credibly linked to Rodgers, the transaction piqued a lot of people’s curiosity.
The intrigue grew last Thursday when a Pittsburgh radio station, 93.7 The Fan, reported that Rodgers would be in the city over the weekend and was expected to sign with the Steelers, with NFL Network quickly confirming the visit. The next day, during an interview with Westwood One radio, Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan said, “I don’t know where, specifically, Aaron is.”
Good times.
Essentially, according to a team source, the Steelers’ powers that be were caught off guard by reports of Rodgers’ apparent visit to Pittsburgh, as no plans for a meeting had been made. They claim to be out of the loop.
And now, they wait.
It’s a familiar position. Last offseason, Rodgers explored the possibility of signing with the Minnesota Vikings, who ultimately decided against making the move. He spent months communicating with McCarthy’s predecessor, Mike Tomlin, before settling on the Steelers as his next destination.
At training camp last summer, Rodgers told me his connection to Tomlin — and the coach’s empathy and patience as the quarterback struggled with some off-the-field trauma — was the primary reason he’d chosen to return for a 21st season.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the partnership proved to be a productive one. Though not nearly as mobile as he was during his heyday, the four-time MVP went on an impressive late-season run, leading the Steelers to four victories in their final five regular-season games, including a dramatic, AFC North-clinching victory over the Baltimore Ravens on “Sunday Night Football.”
Then, in the playoffs, it all came crashing down: The Houston Texans’ defense swallowed up Rodgers and the Steelers, setting up what looked like an inglorious exit.
Tomlin’s subsequent decision to step away, after a 19-year run without a losing season, made Rodgers’ return appear even less probable. The aging Steelers, nearly a decade removed from their most recent playoff victory, seemed poised for a reboot. They could have hired a promising coach in his 30s — as they had with Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin — and had faith that he’d grow into the job and hoist a Lombardi Trophy. They could have traded star edge rusher T.J. Watt and undergone a roster overhaul.
Instead, they stayed in win-now mode and hired the 62-year-old McCarthy.
That injected a new dynamic into a potential Rodgers return. Though the two men clashed semi-frequently during their highly successful, 13-season partnership in Green Bay — I once compared them to the “two visionaries” depicted in an iconic “This Is Spinal Tap” scene — time away seemed to increase their appreciation for one another.
Early signs pointed to a reunion. McCarthy said he was in regular communication with the quarterback, and the team’s actions over the past two months have suggested confidence that he’ll return.
The tell is the lack of a contingency plan. The Steelers could have protected themselves against the possibility of Rodgers not coming back in a variety of ways, from trading for a younger player (Malik Willis, Mac Jones) to targeting an established veteran (Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins) to moving up in the first round to draft Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
They did none of that, meaning that the current options beyond Rodgers are veteran backup Mason Rudolph, 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who Pittsburgh selected in the third round of last month’s draft.
In other words, the prospects of breaking that seven-game postseason losing streak — or even getting to the playoffs — look pretty bleak if Rodgers isn’t back in (yellow and) black.
McCarthy, with 12 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl victory in his 18 seasons as an NFL coach, doesn’t have time or tolerance for protracted uncertainty at the sport’s most important position, nor should he. The Steelers, because they essentially stood pat, need Rodgers — and that means they have little choice but to wait this out and hope for the best.
Essentially, Rodgers has the leverage, and this will play out on his timeline.
If money is at the root of his indecision, well, I’m inclined to take the quarterback’s side. He played for just $13.65 million in 2025, a vastly below-market deal. The unrestricted free-agent tender established a roughly $15 million salary for 2026, but the team can — and should — offer him significantly more given his value and the lack of a viable alternative.
Pay the man, and if you’re lucky, he’ll show up for at least a slice of the offseason program.
Aaron Rodgers was on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 mandatory minicamp. (Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
And if he doesn’t? McCarthy has seen a lot of drama during his career, most recently a five-year run as the Dallas Cowboys’ coach that included three consecutive 12-5 seasons. At this stage, it takes a lot to make him flinch. Yet if the uncertainty surrounding Rodgers drags on and he senses the team is being disrupted, it may evoke memories of that surreal summer of 2008.
McCarthy’s breaking point — a terrible practice he traced to his own distractedness — was a clarifying moment for him and his players. One of them, future first-ballot Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, told me pointedly on that fateful Tuesday afternoon, “I think (the drama surrounding Favre) should end today. We should be talking about the team; instead, we’ve talked about one guy for the last five minutes. This is a situation unique to itself, and it has become its own monster.”
That night, McCarthy acknowledged as much to his players, apologizing for having missed the previous night’s meeting (while attempting to hash out a resolution with Favre and general manager Ted Thompson) and promising that the worst was over.
The next day, the Packers had a much crisper practice, Favre boarded a flight to Mississippi and, within hours, Green Bay completed the trade with the Jets.
I can still recall the exasperation in McCarthy’s voice as he walked off the practice field that morning and, for the next 15 minutes or so, reviewed the craziness of the previous several days.
“I’m a football coach,” he said. “I know (talking to the media) is part of my job description, and I don’t mind doing it, but I have no desire to stand out there and answer all the political questions. I’m going to tell the truth, and that’s that. I’m not going to be politically correct. I’m sick of it.”
This time, I suspect, McCarthy will be far more patient. What other choice does he have?