Mike Florio knows exactly what Aaron Rodgers should do in 2026. It’s not to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Or Minnesota Vikings. In fact, Florio’s recommendation isn’t to sign anywhere. Rather, Rodgers should wait and wait and wait until the “right” late-season opportunity arrives.
“He’s gonna wanna go somewhere where he’s got a chance to get back to the playoffs in his last season and possibly advance,” Florio told 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller Wednesday afternoon. “My case is he needs to be the Philip Rivers of 2026, where he just sits back and waits. And if there’s an injury to a quarterback on a contender, you show up and play part of the season and try to put yourself in position with a team that can win multiple games in the postseason.”
On paper, the plan might sound promising. Rodgers could avoid the offseason programs he loathes. He wouldn’t subject his body to a full season of hits and could be praised if he rides in to save a team’s season.
But Florio’s plan has its problems. One reason why Rivers signed with the Indianapolis Colts in the first place is that he was already so familiar with the offense. The high school Rivers coached was running Shane Steichen’s offense, making it a seamless transition to jump into the playbook at a moment’s notice. Even then, Rivers encountered issues like using the same check twice that the San Francisco 49ers picked up on, adjusted, and took advantage of.
Rodgers would have to find an offensive system he could digest on the fly. What team could that be? Mike McCarthy is in Pittsburgh, so there’s no point in waiting there. Everyone he worked with at the New York Jets got fired. Would he want to join the Arizona Cardinals and Nathaniel Hackett? The odds of them being playoff contenders are slim.
Rodgers is one of the smartest quarterbacks in NFL history, but even for him, joining a team late in the season and expecting good results in scheme and chemistry is a serious ask. Rivers, at least, stayed close to the game. If Rodgers is out of football for months, he’s not getting near the gridiron.
It’s not like Rivers’ time with the Colts was storybook, either. He joined a sinking ship that he couldn’t pull out of the water. He lost all three starts and spent the regular season finale as a healthy scratch. The best part of his comeback was Rodgers getting to feel young again. Rodgers’ choosing to unretire is unlikely to end in beautiful results and would only delay his bid into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
This all assumes such an opening even becomes available. That’s not a guarantee and is subject to a team getting desperate, as the Colts were a year ago.
Rodgers will need to decide if he’s all-in or all-out. On a team when training camp begins or starting his retirement. Those are the options, and if it’s the former, a reunion with McCarthy in Pittsburgh is the most likely outcome.
As I assume is always the case, this is advice Rodgers won’t be taking from Florio.
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