PITTSBURGH — Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday that the 2026 season will be the last of his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
“Yes. This is it,” Rodgers said when asked if this would be his final NFL season.
The four-time NFL MVP signed a one-year contract worth up to $25 million with the Steelers this week, reuniting with coach Mike McCarthy, his coach for 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers, though, added that he thought his career in Pittsburgh was over after former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin resigned following the team’s wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans in January.
“When he said he was stepping away, that was an emotional moment just because we all love him so much and care about him, and I thought that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh,” Rodgers said. “But when the decision was made to hire Mike, I started opening my mind back up to coming back.”
Rodgers said he suggested general manager Omar Khan consider McCarthy as a candidate for the Steelers’ head coach opening early in the offseason, but he wasn’t sure how seriously his former head coach would be considered.
“I encouraged him for an outside perspective to interview Mike,” Rodgers said. “Not thinking that he even would, honestly, just because the way the league goes and the trend, it’s kind of like whoever worked with Sean [McVay], Kyle [Shanahan] or one of those guys, Matt [LaFleur] now gets a lot of looks and multiple guys in those trees have.
“But then when it became more serious, I was thinking, ‘Wow, that’d be a really interesting thought to come back and play with Mike.'”
Rodgers added that his familiarity with a number of assistants brought to Pittsburgh by McCarthy added to his interest in returning to the Steelers.
Rodgers, 42, called it a “full circle” moment to be able to play for McCarthy again.
“Honestly, sitting in the first 8 o’clock meeting on Monday took me back to being a 22-year-old kid sitting in Green Bay, listening to Mike’s first meeting in 2006,” Rodgers said. “It’s fun. I mean, it’s like ‘pinch me’ moments. It’s been happening the last few days, getting to sit next to [offensive line coach] James Campen in the meetings is fun. [Assistant offensive line coach] Jahri Evans was a teammate of mine. He’s on his staff now as a Hall of Famer — should be a Hall of Famer. That’s pretty cool too. A lot of connections.”
McCarthy agreed with Rodgers, also calling it “surreal” to work together again. “We both talked about the moment walking out on the field together for the first time,” McCarthy said. “It was special.”
McCarthy added that even at 42 years old, Rodgers still has his signature arm talent.
“He can throw it with anybody, but he made sure we all saw that in first practice Monday,” McCarthy said with a laugh. “He still throws the ball extremely well. He’s moving, but this is his first practice too. So he’s knocking the cobwebs off.”
Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.65 million deal with the Steelers in June 2025, reaching the decision after several months of contemplation. Soon after, Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” that the 2025 season would likely be his last.
However, after discussions with Khan, McCarthy and his wife, he decided to return for this final season, his 22nd in the NFL, making the call after the NFL draft.
“There was some doubt for sure,” Rodgers said of returning. “But I had good conversations with Mike going back to when he was hired. It was nice to come back. I mean, it felt different than last year because I knew some of the guys and some of the people that work here and stuff, so it felt good coming in.”
McCarthy and Rodgers spoke weekly, sometimes multiple times within a week, as Rodgers worked through his decision-making process. McCarthy said they had the most significant conversations in the last “five or six weeks.”
Rodgers added that he believes the Steelers “added some good pieces” to the roster from a season ago.
“I think we were close last year,” Rodgers said. “… I felt like we needed a lineman probably at some point. They drafted a guy in the first round they like. Thought we needed somebody who could work in the slot and obviously [Germie Bernard] being picked there is a guy that could do it. Bringing in [Michael] Pittman [Jr.] was obviously a good addition, Rico Dowdle, Jamel [Dean] on defense, [Jaquan] Brisker as well. A lot of good pieces added to the mix.”
By agreeing to his one-year contract before OTAs, Rodgers was in the building for what McCarthy called the “most important part of the offseason program.”
“Being here for OTAs in my view is what I was looking for and what he was looking for,” McCarthy said. “And we’ll get the work done that we need to get done.”