Every quarterback’s dream is to have two true No. 1 wide receivers. For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been chasing that reality. Now they have it with DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. In Ben Roethlisberger’s head, that sealed the deal on Aaron Rodgers coming back for one more season.
“How is Aaron not coming back when you have those kinds of weapons? Like, what are we doing?” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “There’s no way he’s not coming back.”
Rodgers seemed happier than ever on his most recent Pat McAfee Show appearance. He didn’t sound like a guy who needed another year of football, but it’s hard to say no when a solid roster is sitting there waiting for him. Especially when his old buddy Mike McCarthy is leading the team, and he already has several close relationships in the building from the 2025 season.
Just look at Rodgers’ final seasons with the Green Bay Packers as evidence of how he’s feeling. He practically begged the Packers for more investment at wide receiver over his last few years in Green Bay. Despite his gaudy career stats, Rodgers had long stretches without a strong one-two punch at the position.
Outside of Metcalf, the Steelers were loaded up with a bunch of WR3-caliber players. It had to be frustrating trying to scrape together a viable starting group last season. They even had Adam Thielen jump up the depth chart late in the season, leap-frogging guys like Scotty Miller and Roman Wilson after barely any time spent on the roster.
Michael Pittman Jr. would give Rodgers the reliable chain-mover he was missing all last season. And it would free up DK Metcalf to do significantly more damage in the process. Even at 42 years old, that has to be enticing for one last ride.
“Aaron, just let us know, man,” Roethlisberger said. “You can just say, ‘Hey, I’m coming back.'”
Roethlisberger isn’t buying the mystery, even while local insiders report the Steelers “truly don’t know” which way he’s leaning.
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