Aaron Rodgers has finally picked a new home. After a long public flirtation, the four-time MVP quarterback plans to sign a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, league sources told The Athletic on Thursday, joining his third NFL team. Rodgers is expected to attend mandatory minicamp next week.
Rodgers, who spent 18 years with the Green Bay Packers and the past two with the Jets, was released by New York on March 12, hitting free agency for the first time in his career. He spent months on the market before ultimately choosing the Steelers, who will open the season on the road against the Jets on Sept. 7 and host the Packers — whom Rodgers has never faced — on “Sunday Night Football” on Oct. 26.
The 41-year-old initially hoped to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, but the team decided not to add him, choosing instead to give 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy every chance to win the starting job. Rodgers visited the Steelers’ facility on March 21, leaving without a deal. He also drew interest from the New York Giants, who ultimately signed Russell Wilson, the Steelers’ primary starter in 2024.
Steelers owner Art Rooney II said at the annual league meeting in early April and then again during the NFL Draft that he felt optimistic the veteran QB would join the team. Speaking in mid-April, Rodgers said he was waiting to make a decision about his NFL future while handling personal matters, adding that he had not ruled out retirement.
Despite Rodgers’ hedging, the Steelers were always confident about signing him. Now, both sides can finally exhale, ready to move forward together with minicamp looming next week.
Rodgers will replace Wilson and Justin Fields, who made six starts in Pittsburgh last season and left to join the Jets in free agency.
Rodgers will have a new No. 1 weapon in DK Metcalf, who worked out with Rodgers this spring, after the Steelers acquired the wideout from the Seattle Seahawks in a blockbuster trade and later dealt George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Pittsburgh also brought back quarterback Mason Rudolph on a two-year, $8 million deal and drafted Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round.
Coming off perhaps the most disappointing season of his career, Rodgers will play for head coach Mike Tomlin, whom he has often praised and whom he beat for his lone Super Bowl title. Rodgers’ Packers topped Tomlin’s Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV in February 2011. Neither has been back to the big stage since, with Rodgers going 7-9 and Tomlin 3-9 in the playoffs over the past 14 seasons.
How he fits
The Steelers have been searching for quality quarterback play since Ben Roethlisberger retired in January 2022 — or longer. After Pittsburgh swung and missed on Kenny Pickett in the first round in 2022, the team chose the veteran route in 2024, handing the team to Wilson down the stretch. When that gamble fizzled with a five-game losing streak, the Steelers considered all options.
Fields, a younger but less proven option, chose to go elsewhere, leaving the Steelers with a picked-over market and an underwhelming draft class. They once again chose the veteran route, hoping Rodgers can maximize what’s left of the team’s current window, with an aging defense that will be the NFL’s highest-paid for the fourth consecutive year in 2025.
2025 impact
Over the past several years, the Steelers have relied on an old-school approach predicated upon defense and the rushing attack. Last year, only three teams ran the ball more frequently than Pittsburgh. And over the past three years, no team has committed a greater chunk of the salary cap to defensive spending.
With Rodgers in the fold, there are two ways to look at this situation. First, the Steelers could once again count on their highly compensated defense to prop up a run-heavy offense. In this instance, they’d understand Rodgers’ shortcomings but also support him better than the Jets did.
The other option is to go all-in on Rodgers, who attempted the second-most passes in the league in 2024. The Steelers could open up their offense more, with Metcalf providing a dynamic weapon, but that appears less likely after the trade of Pickens. Metcalf could be an interesting schematic fit with Rodgers, who has often favored precise route runners over big-play, deep-ball weapons.
Rodgers’ arrival also puts more pressure on the Steelers’ remade offensive line, which includes 2023 and 2024 first-round picks at tackle in Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu and 2024 second-round center Zach Frazier. Jones allowed the second-most sacks in the league in 2024 and now will have to flip from right to left tackle to protect Rodgers’ blind side. Among QBs with at least 300 passing attempts, Rodgers was the NFL’s worst quarterback (minus-0.20 EPA per dropback) against the blitz last season.
Cap update
The Steelers entered free agency with an estimated $60.1 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap. They were down to about $34 million before a Rodgers deal. Rodgers said previously he would play for $10 million per year, so that could leave the Steelers with some wiggle room for other deals if they need it.
Pittsburgh, which might want to push all its chips into the middle with a 41-year-old QB behind center, can create some more cap space with a variety of moves. The most logical way would be to extend outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who is entering the final year of his contract, although the edge rusher market has spiked this offseason.
Outlook
The Steelers have repeatedly counted on their expensive defense and a run-heavy attack to prop up an aging quarterback. They’ll be taking that gamble again. If it works, maybe Rodgers can be the quarterback who snaps Tomlin’s eight-year postseason winless drought. If it doesn’t, the Steelers will probably linger around .500 once again before ending their season in early January, as they’ve done so often in the recent past.
One way or another, considering the risks and Rodgers’ age, the Steelers will likely be looking for their long-term future in the 2026 draft.
(Photo: Justin Berl / Getty Images)
