2025 Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers has yet to confirm if he will play football again after an up-and-down season that ended in a playoff blowout loss
16:47 ET, 25 Feb 2026
Aaron Rodgers
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Aaron Rodgers's future in Pittsburgh is still up in the air(Image: Getty Images)
The Pittsburgh Steelers, as they have each of the last few seasons, enter the 2026 NFL offseason without a starting quarterback. Speaking at the NFL combine, team GM Omar Khan confirmed that conversations are ongoing with 2025 starter Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, 42, hasn't confirmed whether or not he's interested in returning next season. Speaking on his show, ESPN's Adam Schefter laid out the future Hall of Fame quarterback's timeline for returning.
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“The belief around the league is that he’s supposed to give an answer by mid-March,” he said of the Steelers' situation. “Many people thought there was no chance he’d be back, but it certainly sounds like it’s a consideration.”
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Last year, Pittsburgh waited until June to sign Rodgers to a one-year, $!3.6 million deal. He was decent in 2025, leading Pittsburgh to the playoffs with a 10-7 record.
"I don’t think either side wants to have this drag on like it did last year," Khan said at the NFL combine.
He completed 327 of his 498 passes for 3,322 yards with a 24-7 touchdown-interception ratio. The Steelers were blown out by the Houston Texans in the AFC Playoffs.
Schefter also indicated that Rodgers is no lock to return to Pittsburgh if he doesn't retire, and the former Green Bay Packers star could even follow the Brett Favre route.
Omar Khan
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Steelers GM Omar Khan has worked for the franchise since 2001(Image: Getty Images)
“The feeling is that he could be back with the Pittsburgh Steelers," Schefter added. "But, if we go back to last year, he wanted to play in Minnesota. I don’t know how Aaron Rodgers feels, and I don’t know how the Vikings feel. They didn’t want to do that last year because they were being protective of JJ McCarthy."
Khan was also quizzed on what would happen if Rodgers were to retire or walk out the door. "I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a worst-case scenario," he said, perJake Brockhoff of Steelers Depot.
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"We think highly of [2025 sixth-round draft pick Will Howard]. We think he's an arrow player, and there's a lot to like there. The fact that [head coach Mike McCarthy] came in here, and part of the interview process, we talked about it.
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"And he talked about his excitement and some of the things he liked about Will. He thinks he's got a chance to develop and be a good football player."