Steelers agree to deal with QB Aaron Rodgers after long wait

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jun 5, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — After a lengthy courtship that was beginning to take on the look of a Netflix mini-series, Aaron Rodgers has told the Steelers he plans to sign a one-year deal and attend minicamp next week, sources have told the Post-Gazette.

Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP who is the league's seventh all-time leading passer, was brought in to hopefully end the team's playoff-winning drought and get the franchise back on the right track to success.

However, Rodgers will be 42 in December and is coming off a season in which the New York Jets won only five games and his quarterback rating (90.5) was the lowest since he became a full-time starter in 2008.

Nonetheless, the Rodgers saga has been the talk of the league since free agency began and a polarizing subject among Steelers fans.

Rodgers told the Steelers from the beginning he would take his time to make a decision, and he did. Rodgers said on the "Pat McAfee Show" a couple weeks ago some family and personal matters were the reason for the delay and that retirement was a possibility.

Through it all, the Steelers firmly believed he would be their starting quarterback when the season opened in September. The indecision by Rodgers had nothing to do with the Steelers taking Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round of the NFL draft.

Rodgers' signing is the latest in what has been a revolving door at the position since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. Rodgers will become the fourth quarterback in the past four years to start a season opener for the Steelers.

Rodgers visited the Steelers facility on March 21 to meet with coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and general manager Omar Khan. It was the first time he visited with any team after he was released by the Jets.

At the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., team president Art Rooney said he felt "pretty good" about the possibility of signing Rodgers and the process "was headed in our direction."

The Steelers began discussions with Rodgers shortly after the start of free agency. Once Justin Fields signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Jets, the Steelers turned their attention to the former Green Bay Packers quarterback and former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.

But when Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers were left with Rodgers as their only option. They had several chances to re-sign Russell Wilson, who wanted to remain with the team, but apparently had little interest in doing so. Wilson eventually signed with the New York Giants.

In the interim, the Steelers brought back Mason Rudolph on a two-year, $8 million deal with the intention of him being a backup to Rodgers. But when the process continued to drag on and signing Rodgers wasn't a certainty, Rudolph was being looked at as a potential but temporary starter.