Veteran QB Aaron Rodgers to sign with Steelers on 1-year deal: report

Will Graves · The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 5:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are taking their bromance to the adjacent level.

The four-time NFL MVP ended months of "will helium oregon won't he" speculation by informing Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers helium plans to articulation the squad for the 2025 season, a idiosyncratic with cognition of the determination told The Associated Press connected Thursday. The idiosyncratic spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity due to the fact that Rodgers has not yet signed a contract.

The Steelers and the 41-year-old Rodgers had been circling each different for months. Rodgers adjacent visited the team's installation successful precocious March, driving successful undercover successful a nondescript sedan wearing a chapeau and sunglasses.

While determination were plentifulness of bully words from some sides successful the aftermath, Rodgers didn't unreserved to enactment pen to paper, telling The Pat McAfee Show successful April that his attraction was focused connected helping radical successful his interior ellipse who were "battling immoderate hard stuff" and that helium didn't privation to determine until helium knew helium could afloat commit.

With mandatory minicamp coming adjacent week, Rodgers seemingly finds himself successful a spot wherever helium tin springiness the Steelers his afloat attention.

Rodgers joins a squad that has been stuck successful a transitional play astatine backmost since Ben Roethlisberger retired aft the 2021 season. Either Rodgers oregon Mason Rudolph, who returned to Pittsburgh connected a two-year woody successful March, volition apt beryllium Pittsburgh's 5th antithetic Week 1 backmost successful arsenic galore seasons.

The Steelers person stayed competitive, up to a constituent anyway, amid the changeless churn astatine the astir important presumption connected the field. Pittsburgh has reached the playoffs 4 times successful the past 5 seasons, lone to beryllium rapidly escorted retired of the postseason successful lopsided manner each time.

Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, who combined to pb the Steelers to a 10-7 grounds and a playoff berth past season, ended up successful New York. Fields volition regenerate Rodgers with the Jets aft agreeing to a two-year deal. Wilson is heading to the Giants connected a one-year contract.

Those deals near Rodgers and the Steelers without immoderate different tenable options. Both sides person their reasons for consummating what is fundamentally a matrimony of convenience.

Rodgers hopes to writer a happier ending to his Hall of Fame vocation aft 2 eventful, if underwhelming, seasons with the Jets. While Rodgers is hardly a semipermanent solution successful Pittsburgh, helium is the champion enactment near aft the Steelers chose not to usage 1 of their higher picks successful April's draught connected a quarterback, alternatively taking a late-round flyer connected erstwhile Ohio State prima Will Howard.

Handful of memorable on-field interactions

The national brings Rodgers and Tomlin, the longest-tenured caput manager successful large nonrecreational North American sports - unneurotic aft years of what is the shot equivalent of flirting.

They've agelong held each different successful precocious esteem and person enjoyed a fistful of memorable on-field interactions that went viral. Last fall, they playfully nodded astatine each different arsenic a motion of respect aft Tomlin was forced to pain a timeout erstwhile Rodgers tried a speedy drawback that would person ended with the Steelers being penalized for having excessively galore men connected the field.

Pittsburgh is hoping Rodgers has capable near physically to spell with a shot IQ that remains elite. He was coagulated if not spectacular past play successful New York, throwing for 28 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.

Yet his play connected the tract often took a backmost spot to the play disconnected it arsenic the Jets cycled done coaches and limped to a 5-12 record, with Rodgers spending overmuch of his clip successful New York defending comments helium made connected platforms similar The Pat McAfee Show.

The Steelers are nary strangers to drama. If there's been 1 changeless since the team's past Super Bowl appearance, a nonaccomplishment to Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers successful February 2011, it's the quality to employment talented, if mercurial players.

The database runs the gamut, from Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown to Le'Veon Bell to JuJu Smith-Schuster to George Pickens, traded to Dallas past month.

Pittsburgh has retooled a spot successful the off-season, including acquiring two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DK Metcalf from Seattle. The Steelers rapidly signed him to a caller five-year woody to bring immoderate stableness (and hopefully maturity) to a wide receiver country that's lacked both.

The 1 happening Pittsburgh hadn't done was bash the aforesaid astatine the astir important presumption connected the field. Tomlin and squad president Art Rooney II some kept the doorway unfastened for Fields and Wilson to return, lone to basal by idly erstwhile Fields bolted for the Jets and marque nary superior effort to clasp Wilson.

While the Steelers did bring backmost Rudolph, a play removed from starring them connected an improbable tally to the playoffs, helium is considered a backup.

The tract of experienced players disposable yet winnowed down to Rodgers.

His accomplishment is simply a stopgap, 1 that Pittsburgh hopes volition support it competitory until a semipermanent solution arrives, astir apt successful the 2026 draft. Until then, Rodgers and the Steelers volition effort to marque the champion of a less-than-ideal concern of their ain making.