Aaron Rodgers Returns To Steelers For 22nd Nfl Season

Aaron Rodgers is lacing up the cleats for a 22nd NFL season.

The 42-year-old quarterback has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Steelers, according to multiple reports Saturday.

ESPN added that Rodgers is expected to attend voluntary offseason practice sessions, which begin Monday.

The decision not only brings him back to Pittsburgh for a second season, it reunites him with his longtime Packers head coach — and current Steelers bench boss — Mike McCarthy.

While Pittsburgh was waiting for Rodgers’ decision, they drafted quarterback Drew Allar from Penn State in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

McCarthy has said that the move to draft Allar was unrelated to Rodgers’ decision.

McCarthy, who was hired by Pittsburgh to replace longtime head coach Mike Tomlin, has expressed his desire to reunite with Rodgers, who he coached in Green Bay for 15 seasons.

“I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” McCarthy said at his intro news conference, according to ESPN. “… I was able to sit back and watch the games, watched most of the Pittsburgh games on TV, and I thought he was a great asset for the team.”

Although it was likely that he was going to remain in Pittsburgh, it was widely speculated that Rodgers, who turns 43 in December was going to retire.

Upon signing a one-year, $13.65 million deal with the Steelers last June, Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” that he believed the 2025 season would be his last.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is it,” Rodgers said then. “That’s why we just did a one-year deal. Steelers didn’t need to put any extra years on that or anything, so this was really about finishing with a lot of love and fun and peace for the career that I’ve had.

“I played 20 fricking years. It’s been a long run. I’ve enjoyed it, and no better place to finish than in one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL with Mike Tomlin and a great group of leadership and great guys in the city that expects you to win.”

Though 16 games last season, Rodgers racked up 3,322 passing yards with 24 touchdowns, helping lead Pittsburgh to a 10-6 record in the games he was on the field.

The Steelers’ Super Bowl hoped were crushed early in the postseason with a 30-6 blowout loss to the Texans in the AFC wild-card round.

In that game Rodgers threw for 147 yards with an interception, along with getting sacked four times.

“I’m disappointed,” Rodgers told reporters following the loss. “Obviously, such a fun year. A lot of adversity, but a lot of fun. Been a great year, overall, in my life the last year.

“And this is a really good part of that, coming here and being a part of this team. It’s disappointing to be sitting here with the season over.”