Aaron Rodgers may not be riding off into the sunset after all.
Unlike his final years in Green Bay and New York, the 42-year-old quarterback is enjoying his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. And regardless of the outcome of Monday’s wild-card playoff game against the visiting Houston Texans, Rapoport believes there is real optimism about his return next season.
‘You saw that embrace between Aaron Rodgers and [Steelers head coach] Mike Tomlin,’ Rapoport, a long-time NFL insider, said during a network appearance on Monday. ‘That is real. Both of them have enjoyed the other this season.’
Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.6million deal with the Steelers after the Jets announced their intention to release him in early 2025. Since then, he’s led Pittsburgh to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth, while tossing occasionally directing criticism at New York.
It hasn’t been a perfect season for Rodgers, who threw for just 207.6 yards a game, but with wins in five of their last six heading into the postseason, he’s reportedly embracing his time in Pittsburgh.
‘Rodgers actually began the season openly stating that he believed it’d be his last year,’ Rapoport said. ‘Except, it’s gone so well in Pittsburgh, he’s shown enough offensively, he’s enjoyed his time in the locker room, that he’s open to returning for another season. I understand the Steelers would welcome this.’
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers arrives before Monday’s wild-card game
Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.6million deal with the Steelers after the Jets released him
Rodgers remains unsigned for the 2026 season, which Rapoport noted remains a long ways away.
‘Lot of time to go,’ he said. ‘We’ll see what ends up happening… But certainly both sides, it seems, would be open to a reunion.’
Rodgers recently told reporters he enjoys the Steelers because the team doesn’t leak information to reporters – an apparent dig at the Jets.
‘There aren’t any leaks in the boat… the antithesis of where I was. To go through a season like this and being able to focus on football has been really nice,’ Rodgers said this week.
The Super Bowl winner’s first season in New York was lost to a torn Achilles and he went just 5-12 with the Jets last season. Ultimately he met with new coach Aaron Glenn and other front-office officials, who informed him he would be released.
Rodgers was all smiles after Pittsburgh’s January 4 win over Baltimore clinched a playoff berth
‘I figured that when I flew across the country on my dime, there would be a conversation,’ Rodgers said during an April episode of ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show. ‘I meet with the coach, we start talking … he runs out of the room. I’m like, that’s strange.
‘Then he comes back with the GM [Darren Mougey]. So we sit down and I think we’re going to have this long conversation, I’ve flown across the country, and 20 seconds in, I’m talking to the GM, and [Glenn] leans to the edge of his seat and says: “You’re sure you want to play football?” And I said, “Yeah, I’m interested.” And he said, “We’re going in another direction at quarterback.”‘
The Jets brought in former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields and ultimately went 3-14 in 2025.
