Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin expects Aaron Rodgers to play next season.
Mike Tomlin expects Aaron Rodgers to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.
Tomlin, who is now with NBC's Football Night in America, told Maria Taylor on Sunday that he believes Rodgers will return to the Steelers.
"Man, if you've got a gun to my head, I'd say it's AR, Aaron," Tomlin said. "I just think being around him for the 12 months I'm around him, he's got a love affair with the game of football. And not only the game, but the process.
"I think he has an addiction to that. And there's only one way to feed it. And certainly he is still capable and in really good shape. I think at the end of the day, he'll play football."
Rodgers finished with 3,322 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2025. He completed 65.7% of his passes.
The Steelers won the AFC North last season but lost to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the 2026 playoffs. Tomlin stepped down as head coach and Mike McCarthy was hired.
McCarthy and Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV against the Steelers as members of the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers told Pat McAfee a couple of months ago that he's open to playing for McCarthy again.
"I love Mike, and Mike and I have kept in contact over the years," Rodgers said. "I've had conversations with Omar. I think Omar enjoyed having me there. I think the guys had a positive response to our time together. But again, there hasn't been any deadline set on me, there hasn't been any contract floated in front of me for me to, like, 'Well, we're giving you to March 8 to make a decision on this contract.' There's been nothing to that respect. … Interested in what the conversations will be, but there hasn't been any progression when it comes to that."
It will be intriguing to see if Rodgers plays another season in the NFL. The four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer has 527 passing touchdowns and 66,274 passing yards with the Packers, New York Jets and Steelers.
McCarthy, for the record, wants Rodgers to come back.
"Yes, it would be a great story," McCarthy said, via ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "I don't know -- and I would love to tell everybody with breaking news. But, you know, it's really cool to see Aaron at 42. To see a young man at 22 and all of what he's been able to accomplish and where he's at in his personal life, and trying to make this decision. He's in a really good place."
The Steelers drafted Drew Allar out of Penn State in the 2026 NFL Draft. They also have Mason Rudolph and Will Howard.
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