Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is expected to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend and is likely to play for them this season, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
There is no agreement between the Steelers and Rodgers at this time, per ESPN. Steelers president Art Rooney II told NFL Network last week that he remained confident Rodgers would be the team’s quarterback in 2026 and believed the uncertainty would wrap up soon. Rooney also said at the NFL’s annual meeting in late March that the Steelers expected an answer from Rodgers by the NFL draft, which did not happen, the report says.
General manager Omar Khan and coach Mike McCarthy said before the draft that the team was not putting a deadline on the 42-year-old quarterback to notify them of his decision, the report says. Khan indicated the conversations with Rodgers had “all been positive and good,” the report adds.
With Rodgers remaining unsigned in free agency, the Steelers applied the rarely used UFA tender late last month to ensure they would be eligible to secure a compensatory draft pick if he signed with another team, the report says. If Rodgers were to sign the tender, he would receive a 10% raise off last year’s salary, which would pay him about $15 million this season, and the tender would give Pittsburgh exclusive negotiating rights if he does not sign with another team by July 22 or the first day of the team’s training camp, whichever is later, per the report.
Rodgers, who will turn 43 during the 2026 season, acclimated seamlessly to the Steelers in 2025 after signing a one-year, $13.65 million contract before their June minicamp, the report says. The four-time MVP went 10-6 in 16 starts, missed the Week 12 loss at the Chicago Bears after fracturing his wrist the week before in a win against the Cincinnati Bengals, and finished the season completing 65.7% of his pass attempts with 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions, the report adds.
Returning to the Steelers in 2026 would mean a reunion between Rodgers and McCarthy, his coach for 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, the report says. Rodgers won two of his four NFL MVP awards playing under McCarthy and a Super Bowl championship after the 2010 season when Green Bay defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, per the report.
The expected visit this weekend is the next step in a process that remains unresolved, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor contributed to this report.
