Aaron Rodgers
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CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan predicted quarterback Aaron Rodgers to retire and the Pittsburgh Steelers to sign Malik Willis.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is very close to exposing whether or not the Pittsburgh Steelers have a backup plan behind center this offseason.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan expressed wanting Rodgers to return for 2026. However, the quarterback was rather non-committal with what he plans to do during an interview with Pat McAfee on Wednesday.
CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan, though, was pretty firm about what the Steelers should do behind center. In his free agency predictions article Friday, Sullivan projected the Steelers to sign Malik Willis in the event Rodgers retires.
“The 26-year-old is pegged by many to potentially be the latest veteran quarterback to resurrect his career, particularly after flashing in spot showing with Green Bay over the last few seasons,” Sullivan wrote. “In his lone start in 2025, Willis completed 85.7% of his passes for 288 yards and a touchdown, while adding 60 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against Baltimore.
“Those shimmers are enough to garner the attention of multiple QB-needy teams, including Pittsburgh, and they should try to shoulder themselves to the front of the line for his services.”
Willis is 3-3 overall as an NFL starter. He struggled mightily early in his career with the Tennessee Titans.
But with the Green Bay Packers the past two years, he showed a lot of growth, including during a 2025 start.
Because of that, NFL analysts, such as The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, have projected Willis to sign a significant deal in 2026 free agency.
Steelers Projected to Sign Malik Willis
Any suitor for Willis this offseason will be taking a major leap of faith that the quarterback can repeat the success he experienced in his lone 2025 Packers start.
In that game, Willis was spectacular. The quarterback went 18 of 21 passes while averaging 13.7 yards per attempt.
Willis also played well in relief of Jordan Love the week before that start. In those two games combined, Willis completed 27 of 32 attempts and averaged 12.8 yards per pass with two touchdowns. He also ran for 104 yards and two scores.
But even including the relief appearance, that’s a very small sample. And because of the market for quarterbacks, Willis will not come cheaply in free agency.
Popper projected Willis’ free agency worth a 2-year, $46 million contract. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler placed a similar value on Willis.
“Many front offices believe the more accurate comp is Justin Fields‘ deal with the Jets last year (two years, $40 million),” Fowler wrote. “Could that jump up due to cap inflation and/or multiple suitors? Sure. A range of $20-25 million annually is certainly a good starting point.”
For the Steelers, the question is whether they will feel comfortable offering that kind of money to a relatively inexperienced signal-caller. Heck, Mason Rudolph has made more starts than him.
The upside with Willis is tremendous. That’s why he could be so costly in free agency.
But whichever team signs Willis will be accepting considerable risk.
Will Aaron Rodgers Retire From NFL?
To be clear, Sullivan made a series of predictions for the Steelers on Friday. He projected the team to sign Willis but after Rodgers retires.
That could be on the table after the 42-year-old’s ESPN interview Wednesday, which was his first public appearance in weeks.
“Aaron Rodgers kept his future a mystery when speaking to the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ on Wednesday, so there is no definitive answer if he’ll play in 2026 or not,” Sullivan wrote. “While the 42-year-old did say that he continues to work out, he also said that no contract has been offered by the Steelers, and no deadline to make a decision has been set either.
“With free agency on Pittsburgh’s doorstep, they don’t have a ton of time to see where Rodgers’ head is at. If they do wait to hear from him, they run the risk of missing out on other available quarterbacks.”
It would make a lot of sense for the Steelers to finally take a significant risk again to find a long-term solution at quarterback.
But based on how the Steelers have operated in the past, it’s probably not very likely they take that risk without knowing Rodgers’s 2026 plans.
It also sure doesn’t sound like Rodgers is going to retire before Monday. So while the possibility is intriguing, the Steelers are probably long shots for Willis.