James Harrison Provides Unique Perspective On Steelers Allegedly Not Offering Aaron Rodgers A Contract

The contract situation, or lack thereof, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers has been rather confusing since the end of the 2025 campaign. The team has expressed interest in having him return, but the four-time MVP recently spoke with the Pat McAfee Show, and said that he has not been offered anything and it takes two to tango. This would suggest that the organization actually hasn't taken the time to put a contract in from of him to sign. With free agency dangerously close, the franchise and the quarterback need to come to some sort of agreement, or just end the relationship altogether. 

It could be a little bit of cat and mouse that is being played by the Steelers and Rodgers, or the two sides could legitimately be very far apart on expectations regarding a mutual decision. The signal-caller has always been very private — as has the franchise — so the media could be getting fed one thing, only for something completely different to be in the works.

On a podcast episode of Deebo & Joe, Pittsburgh's legendary edge rusher, James Harrison, discussed what might be going on from both a player and organizational perspective. He painted a picture first of Rodgers possibly being financially motivated to sign with the Steelers again, which is why he hasn't given the team a firm answer.

"'I want to come back, but I need to see what kind of numbers y'all putting in front of me to make it more likely that I feel like I wanna come back,'" Harrison noted while trying to guess what Rodgers is thinking. 

On the other side of things, Harrison said that Pittsburgh's brass doesn't want to show its hand and offer too much right out of the gate. The two-time Super Bowl champion believes that the Steelers want a firm commitment, as it then will give them complete autonomy over the contract negotiation process.

"That's what I think [Rodgers is] saying, but the Steelers at the same time — I told you I can go both ways. I can sit at the other side of the table. I can see the six and the nine. The Steelers are saying, 'We ain't going to offer you no money unless we know you want to come back.' Why are the Steelers saying that? Because they want to know that he wants to come back because if he wants to come back, we feel like now we can give him a lower number to get him to come back."

It's a fascinating perspective from someone who played over a decade in the NFL. Sometimes, players and/or agents are not on the same pages as general managers. Omar Khan has stated that the experience with Rodgers was great and the team wants him back, but something about the situation seems murky, unless both sides are completely fooling the media and fans alike.

The Steelers have no one else to blame but themselves for being in this type of situation. Top free agents, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, are not going to want to commit to playing in the Steel City if the quarterback situation is a mystery. This brings together a whole host of problems for Khan and co. Regardless of whatever is going on behind closed doors, Khan needs to get on the phone with Rodgers, if he hasn't already, and figure everything out soon.

Steelers Are Continuing To Kick The Can Down The Road

The quarterback position is arguably the most important in all of sports. It's hard to understate how poorly Pittsburgh had addressed the area since Ben Roethlisberger retired. Rodgers will be welcomed back because there is no other clear solution and the team won the AFC North in 2025; however, Khan and co. are hopefully working intently on developing a strategy to figure out who, in the near future, will be the future of the franchise long-term.

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