Aaron Rodgers Delivers Honest Update To Steelers' Omar Khan And Mike McCarthy: "There's Been No Deadline"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a ton of franchise-altering decisions that are certain to be made now that Mike McCarthy is the head coach. None are larger though, at least it feels like, than Aaron Rodgers’ decision. The 42 year old quarterback was the starter for Pittsburgh in the 2025 season. That year finished with an AFC North crown and a 10-7 regular season record, though the Steelers were not able to end their playoff-win drought.

Even so, McCarthy coached Rodgers for 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and they won Super Bowl XLV together, ironically against Pittsburgh. The idea of Rodgers in the Steel City was originally tied to Mike Tomlin and viewed as a one year move for 2025, but now the stars appear to be aligning for him to play in 2026 under his former coach McCarthy. The familiarity, history, and mutual respect between the two naturally fuels speculation about a reunion continuing in black and gold.

Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday to detail an honest update for Steelers fans. He revealed that he has spoken with General Manager Omar Khan and McCarthy, but no progressions have been made yet regarding a contract or timeline. For now, the future remains open ended, placing the organization in a holding pattern as one of the biggest decisions of its offseason continues to loom.

"Well I mean, what are we sitting here, and it's March 4th? Free agency starts in about a week. I have been spending a lot of time with my wife," Rodgers explained. "We went on a ski trip. We have just been laying low. There's a lot of other things going on. A situation in Malibu has changed... I talked to Mike and I talked with Omar. There's been no deadline that has been put in front of me. There's no contract offer or anything, so there's nothing that I am having to debate between. I am a free agent and again I am enjoying my time with my wife and enjoying this part of the offseason."

Khan spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine and stated he does not anticipate Rodgers taking as long as he did in the 2025 offseason. 

Now, Rodgers seems to somewhat contradict that sentiment when he spoke to Pat McAfee, making it sound like there is still a lot he is working through before making a decision.

"There's conversations to be had you know down the line," Rodgers said. "But right now, I am not, there hasn't been any progressive conversations. I love Mike and we have kept in touch over the years. I have had conversations with Omar. You know I think Omar really enjoyed having me there and the guys had a positive response to our time together. But again, there hasn't been any deadline or any contract floated in front of me... there's been nothing to that respect so in that manner, I am just working out because of the reasons I told you first and foremost. I'm spending time with my better half and I am interested in what those conversations would be, but there hasn't been any progression when it comes to that."

Steelers Confident In Will Howard If Rodgers Doesn't Return

There have been several question marks about how much faith the Steelers brass really have in second year quarterback Will Howard. 

A sixth round draft choice being the face of the franchise at quarterback seems more like a movie script than anything substantial, but a lot of people have faith in Howard and it appears the Steelers are confident he could step in and get a chance if Rodgers did not return.

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