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brooke prior
In the regular season finale against Pittsburgh–win or go home Baltimore Ravens on sunday, steelers quarterback aaron rodgers There is no focus on your future after week 18.
While he said Wednesday that he hasn’t “thought” about returning to Pittsburgh next season after his one-year contract expires, Rodgers acknowledged the reality he will face when the season ends.
“I’m thinking about it this week, but obviously I’m 42 and I’m on a one-year deal,” he said. “So you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So that will give me a lot of options if I still want to play. I mean, not a lot of options, but there will be options, I think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.
“I’ve enjoyed this experience, and everyone in Pittsburgh has been fantastic to me on and off the field. And this experience has been exactly how I was hoping for, and it’s been even better than I expected.”
After signing a one-year, $13.65 million contract with Pittsburgh in June, Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” in an interview that he was “pretty sure” the 2025 season would be his last.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s it,” Rodgers said in June. “That’s why we just did a one-year deal. The Steelers didn’t need to put any extra years on him or anything, so it was really about ending my career with a lot of love, fun and peace.
“I played for 20 years. It’s been a long run. I’ve enjoyed it, and there’s no better place to end up at one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL with Mike Tomlin and a great group of leadership and great people in town that expect you to win.”
Six months after that interview, Rodgers praised Tomlin and expressed gratitude for the experience in Pittsburgh.
“You’re always thinking about what ifs and alternative timelines of your life,” Rodgers said. “But if I had not taken this path, I would never have met so many people in the locker room who I now call close friends and I would not have had the experiences and memories I have on the field, I would not have been able to be in the room with Tom Arth and Beck again. [Matt Baker] And will be able to play for Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin. And I feel that there will be a small void in my life without this chapter. So I’m grateful for this time.”
The quarterback said he would talk to his wife when deciding on his next move, but he kept his process vague. Rodgers, who recently said he felt like “Benjamin Button”, said he hoped his decision might be about a desire to continue playing rather than the physical ability to remain on the field.
“I’m just hoping I can recover from this strain and feel good physically so it’s not in the conversation,” he said.
Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Rodgers has helped the Steelers to a 9–7 record and kept them in contention for the AFC North title. He has thrown for 3,028 yards with 23 touchdowns to seven interceptions and has completed 65.6% of his attempts.
“At times, yes, definitely,” Rodgers said, when asked if he played the kind of ball he wanted to play this season. “Whenever you’re in a first-year offense, there’s always some growing pains within the offense. There’s always, you feel like, if you had another year, what could you have done.
“… We’ve done our best with our interactions and our meeting times outside the facility and our meeting times in the facility. But obviously the more years you get with the same guys in the system, the more continuity you have, the better you feel like you can play.”
The Steelers are in a do-or-die situation against Baltimore in part due to Rodgers’ poor performance playing without a wide receiver. DK Metcalf In Week 17 against Cleveland. Rodgers completed only 53.8% of his attempts and threw for 168 yards. Rodgers has completed 55% or fewer of his attempts three times this season and has come back with better performances each time.
“I haven’t had a lot of stinkers back-to-back the last few years,” Rodgers said. “So have the same mentality, same approach every week. Just expect greatness. And when it doesn’t happen, you don’t change the plan. You just keep going and trust the process.”
