The Pittsburgh Steelers recently decided to hire Mike McCarthy as the fourth coach in their franchise since 1969. Immediately after the hiring, rumors began to swirl about a potential reunion between the coach and Aaron Rodgers. The duo spent 13 years together and won a Super Bowl in Green Bay. However, it is still unknown if we will see the two back together at all, especially with the 42-year-old QB on the verge of retirement.
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Rodgers will turn 43 in the middle of next season. He didn’t look bad this past year, but he certainly looked like an older shell of what he used to be. Regardless, he’s better than what the Steelers will most likely find on the open market.
The owner, Art Rooney II, recently hinted at the possibility of Rodgers leaving. He shared that a major reason why the QB was with the team was because of Mike Tomlin. With the longtime head coach now gone, he believes it could be a major factor that makes a return unlikely. Still, unlikely does not mean no.
In fact, ongoing rumors from around the team suggest that some within the Steelers are still expecting Rodgers to return.
“What I’ve heard a lot is they’re expecting him to come back,” Mike Kaboly, a Steelers correspondent for the Pat McAfee Show, reported.
“They are under the impression that he still wants to play. But until you sign on the dotted line, you just never know, especially with Aaron,” Kaboly added.
When it comes to Rodgers, we know that he takes a long time to decide whether he wants to play or not. It seems to be a day-by-day process with him, and he never likes to rule anything out. Many thought that he would retire after last season, but he eventually found a home in Pittsburgh, where they were desperate for a QB.
: People in the Steelers building reportedly expect Aaron Rodgers to be back with the team for 2026, per @MarkKaboly
“What I’ve heard a lot is they’re expecting him to come back… They are under the impression that he still wants to play. But until you sign on the… pic.twitter.com/kwZQglTcsJ
— JPA (@jasrifootball) January 31, 2026
We probably will not hear about Rodgers’ impending 2026 status for quite some time. He is officially a free agent and will be free to sign with any team of his choosing once the signing period starts. But we expect him to draw this out until the summer before deciding what to do, just like last year.
If Rodgers does want to go back to the Steelers, the team should welcome him with open arms. McCarthy has already expressed that he believes his former QB has plenty left in the tank. He also noted that Rodgers not signaling what he plans to do with his future is very normal behavior this time of year.
We will just have to wait and see what Rodgers decides to do in 2026. If we had to guess, it feels like he might follow a similar path to last year, pushing the decision further down the line before eventually signing with a team. Whether that will be with the Steelers depends on what unfolds in the coming months.
