Aaron Rodgers says this season with Steelers will be his last in the NFL: 'This is it'
There will be no further offseasons of intrigue around Aaron Rodgers’ playing status.
So says Aaron Rodgers. The Pittsburgh quarterback, fresh off of signing a one-year deal to return to the Steelers, told reporters Wednesday that he intends for this upcoming season to be his last as an NFL quarterback.
“Yes,” Rodgers said when asked if this would be his last year. “This is it.”
Aaron Rodgers on his final season in the NFL:
— Ashley Liotus (@AshleyLiotus) May 20, 2026
"Aaron do you believe this could be your last year or do you think about that right now?"
"Yes."
"As in your last year?"
"This is it, yep." pic.twitter.com/vFu4QworwA
Rodgers made his declaration in his first public comments since agreeing to return to the Steelers on Saturday.
Rodgers, 42, is re-joining the Steelers for his second season in Pittsburgh. The four-time MVP with the Green Bay Packers will be playing his 22nd NFL season.
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He returns to a Steelers team that hired his former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy to replace longtime head coach Mike Tomlin, who retired in the offseason after 19 seasons in Pittsburgh.
Rodgers: McCarthy hiring impacted his decision to return
Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Pittsburgh’s decision to hire McCarthy played a role in Rodgers’ decision to return for another season.
"I thought that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh,” Rodgers said of Tomlin’s retirement. “But when the decision was made to hire Mike, I started opening my mind back up to coming back."
He said he made his decision to return after April’s NFL Draft and that he suggested McCarthy as a coaching candidate to Steelers general manager Omar Khan.
Rodgers told reporters that working with McCarthy is “surreal” and that his meeting with the head coach Monday morning was a “pinch me” moment that reminded him of his first season alongside McCarthy in 2006.
What’s expected of Rodgers, McCarthy in 2026
Rodgers returns to a Steelers franchise in flux. McCarthy is just the fourth Steelers head coach since 1968. Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll combined to coach the franchise for 57 seasons.
The Steelers are coming off a 10-7 season in which they won the AFC North, but were outmatched in a 30-6 wild-card round loss to the Houston Texans. They have an aging defense and an offense led by a 42-year-old in Rodgers who is obviously not the quarterback of the future.
The Steelers are bringing Rodgers back to play for McCarthy with the intent of keeping a team that hasn’t posted a losing record since 2003 competitive.
Rodgers, understandably, was far from his MVP form in 2025. The arm strength that was his trademark alongside his unparalleled accuracy during his peak has waned.
But he was efficient and showed flashes of his former excellence while completing 65.7% of his passes for 6.7 yards per attempt and 207.6 yards per game with 24 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
The Steelers are hoping for more of the same as they aim to take another shot at the playoffs in 2026. Beyond next postseason, the plan in Pittsburgh is unclear. But the burden won’t fall on Rodgers’ shoulders after that.
