PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers said the 2026 season will be his last.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since agreeing to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, Rodgers was asked if this would be his final year. He answered without hesitation.
“Yes,” he said. “This is it.”
One year ago, Rodgers also believed he could be writing his final chapter. Last summer, he said on The Pat McAfee Show that he was “pretty sure” that 2025 would be his final year. His answer was more definitive this time.
While Rodgers and the Steelers both believed they were entering a one-and-done situation last year, the dynamics changed as the season unfolded. The team rallied to win four of its final five games and clinch the AFC North. The veteran quarterback played some of his best football when the Steelers needed him most. Ahead of the season finale, Rodgers left the door open for a return. Rather than shutting down questions about his future, the quarterback pointed out he’d be a free agent and might have a couple of options.
Initially, it appeared that those options wouldn’t include the Steelers. Rodgers came to Pittsburgh in the first place to play for coach Mike Tomlin. When the coach of 19 seasons stepped down following a loss to the Houston Texans in the playoffs, Rodgers thought his days in Pittsburgh were finished.
“I love Mike T,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “I really appreciated the opportunity to come in last year and loved my experience with him. When he said he was stepping away, that was an emotional moment, just because we all love him so much and care about him. I thought that that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh.
“But when the decision was made to hire Mike (McCarthy). I started opening my mind back up to coming back.”
Rodgers had at least some small part in that decision. After Tomlin’s resignation, Rodgers said he spoke with Steelers general manager Omar Khan and encouraged him to consider his former Green Bay Packers coach.
“I had a conversation with Omar at the end of last year,” Rodgers said. “I encouraged him, from an outside perspective, to interview Mike, not thinking that he even would, honestly. Just because of the way the league goes, and the trend, it’s kind of like whoever worked with Sean (McVay), Kyle (Shanahan) or one of those guys, Matt (LaFleur) now, gets a lot of looks. Multiple guys in those trees have.
“But then when it became more serious, I was thinking, ‘Wow, that’d be a really interesting thought to come back and play with Mike.’”
Rodgers said he had many conversations with McCarthy and Khan as he weighed his options and evaluated how his body responded to the 2025 season, especially the broken wrist he sustained in Week 11.
The Steelers initially thought they’d get an answer around free agency, and then thought they’d have him signed before the draft. However, the process lingered longer than the team anticipated.
McCarthy said that OTAs are “the most important time” of the offseason for a new coaching staff installing an offense. His goal all along was to ensure Rodgers was here by this week.
“I wasn’t under contract, so I could take as much time as I wanted to,” Rodgers said. “I was honest with Mike and Omar and Mr. Rooney from the start, where I was at, and what I was thinking. After I saw the moves and felt like my body was in a good place to make a decision, I felt like it was the right decision to come back.”