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 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.
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.
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.
