The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first AFC North title since 2020 in the 2025 season, with Aaron Rodgers throwing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. But a 30-6 Wild Card blowout loss to the Houston Texans left the season stinging. Rodgers managed just 146 yards and threw a pick-six in his final performance.
Now, with Mike Tomlin having stepped down the day after that loss and new head coach Mike McCarthy taking charge, Pittsburgh faces its most uncertain offseason in years.
Mike McCarthy Addresses Aaron Rodgers’ Hold-Up
In a Friday phone interview withESPN Madison’s Wilde and Tausch, Steelers HC McCarthy opened up about the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Aaron Rodgers’ future. McCarthy confirmed he has spoken to Rodgers a number of times since taking over in January 2026, describing their communication as healthy and ongoing.
Mike McCarthy Gives Update on Aaron Rodgers' Reunion and Steelers' QB Dilemma
Mike McCarthy Gives Update on Aaron Rodgers’ Reunion and Steelers’ QB Dilemma (Imagn Image)
He noted that Rodgers is currently going through his normal offseason routine, and even mentioned the veteran has been doing some skiing lately. McCarthy stopped short of revealing whether Rodgers has expressed any desire to return.
McCarthy kept Rodgers’ personal details private but made clear the Steelers are not sitting still.
“We’ll see what the future holds, but we’re definitely preparing for both scenarios,” McCarthysaid. That means building a playbook flexible enough for a 42-year-old veteran or a younger option like second-year quarterback Will Howard.
The coach described a specific play-action design he had reviewed that morning. “We had one this morning on a play-action play,” McCarthy said, “and I said, if Aaron’s here, we’ll run it this way. And if it’s Will and the young guys, I said, we’ll run it another way.”
Reports remain divided. Some national insiders, and even McCarthy himself in earlier comments, had strongly hinted at a Rodgers return. But McCarthy’s tone in this interview was noticeably more neutral.
CBS Sports insider Aditi Kinkhabwala went further, saying Rodgers’ chances of returning were “minuscule”based on conversations with people close to him in Pittsburgh last year.
The retirement signal, however, did not come from insiders alone. Before the 2025 season began, Rodgerstold @patmcafeeshow “I’m pretty sure this is it.” But Rodgers complicated that picture himself.
On December 31, just days before Pittsburgh’s final regular season game, Rodgers said he still might play on. “There’ll be options, I would think, maybe one or two,” hesaid, “if I decide I still want to play.” With free agency opening March 11 and the NFL Scouting Combine approaching, a decision may come soon.
The connection between McCarthy and Rodgers runs deeper than most coach-quarterback partnerships. The two spent13 seasons together in Green Bay, winning Super Bowl XLV, a victory that came over a Mike Tomlin-coached Pittsburgh team. Now McCarthy replaces Tomlin in the same city, which adds an unusual layer to an already complicated offseason.
Pittsburgh holds the No. 21 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, where Alabama’s Ty Simpson has emerged as a name in several mock drafts. Whether Rodgers returns or not, McCarthy’s first season carries the weight of ending Pittsburgh’s nine-year drought without a playoff win.