Pittsburgh Steelers say Aaron Rodgers’ future may be decided within a month
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The Pittsburgh Steelers officially started a new era by officially signing Mike McCarthy on Tuesday. McCarthy will replace Mike Tomlin, who resigned after 19 seasons as the Steelers’ head coach.
Among the questions McCarthy and the Steelers’ front office must answer is who they plan to serve as the starting quarterback next season.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers last summer. He is 42 years old and is not ruling out a return in 2026, but the team is waiting to see what happens next.
Steelers principal owner Art Rooney II shed light on the timeline for when a decision on Rodgers’ future could come.
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It remains to be seen whether Aaron Rodgers will return to the Pittsburgh Steelers next season. (Matt Freed/AP Photo)
Rodgers’ decision could come to a decision “in the next month or so,” according to Rooney.
If Rodgers returns to the Steelers, he will be reunited with his former coach. But Rooney made clear that a potential Rodgers-McCarthy reunion had little bearing on his choice to hire the former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach.
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“We don’t know what Aaron’s plans are at the moment and that didn’t factor into the decision too much,” Rooney said. Official website of the Steelers. “We’ll see where Aaron is and we’ve left the door open, but obviously we all have to sit down and see if it makes sense. So that will happen within the next month. But the decision was made based on Mike being the coach we wanted, and that really had very little to do with whether or not Aaron would come back.”
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy spoke at a press conference on Tuesday to introduce himself as the Steelers’ next head coach. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
The Steelers selected Will Howard in the sixth round of last year’s NFL draft. Veteran point guard Mason Rudolph signed a two-year contract to return to Pittsburgh last March. Rooney said McCarthy has a positive view of Howard, adding that the former Ohio State standout “has a tremendous rise.”
As it relates to Rodgers’ future, Rooney said, “We’ve got to sit down and discuss where Aaron is, whether he’s decided to come back and whether it all makes sense.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and then-head coach Mike Tomlin share their moments after defeating the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 4 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Rodgers was mum on his 2026 prospects after the Steelers lost a lopsided wild-card round loss to the Houston Texans earlier this month.
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“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions,” Rodgers said. “It’s definitely a very fun year at this point. There’s a lot of challenges, but it’s a lot of fun. This past year has been a great year in my life overall and coming here and being a part of this team is a really good part of that. So it’s disappointing to be sitting here after the season is over.”
Rodgers spent the first 18 seasons of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. He spent two years with the New York Jets before signing with the Steelers last year.
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