PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be moving one step closer to a resolution. The 42-year-old quarterback is expected to visit Pittsburgh in the coming days, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
Throughout this months-long process, people at all levels of the organization — from players to top decision makers — have maintained confidence that the four-time MVP will play in 2026, and that it will be for the Steelers. However, no one has wanted to speak in certain terms, recognizing it can be dangerous to assume they know what Rodgers will do and when he’ll do it.
GM Omar Khan said at the NFL Scouting Combine that he did not foresee the indecision dragging out like it did last year, when it took until mandatory minicamp in June for Rodgers to sign his one-year deal. However, the Steelers have been reminded of Rodgers’ enigmatic nature on several instances. Initially, the team believed the QB would give his answer around free agency. Then, team president and owner Art Rooney II said he expected an answer before the NFL Draft.
There has never been a firm deadline. However, when those dates passed without an answer, the new target internally became sometime around OTAs, which begin on May 18. Rooney underscored that point publicly in an appearance with NFL Network last Wednesday when he said, “Even though I thought it probably would have been concluded by now, I think we will come to a conclusion here in the next few weeks.”
The Steelers gave themselves something of an insurance policy last week when they placed the seldom-used unrestricted free agent tender on the QB. The main motivation for that move was to ensure they’d get a compensatory pick back if the QB chose to play elsewhere. (Before the draft, players that leave in free agency are automatically entered into the comp pick formula. The cutoff date is the draft, which explains the timing of the tender.) Additionally, the tender acts as a placeholder with a price tag around $15.5 million. That dollar figure can — and likely will — be negotiated.
The UFA tender also has a third stipulation: Once training camp begins, the Steelers retain Rodgers’ rights if he is not yet signed. However, it’s increasingly looking like that will be avoided and the Steelers will finally have clarity from Rodgers.
