“Mike Tomlin is gone. The Steelers don’t have a concrete plan for what they’ll do at quarterback in 2026. It sure seems like Pittsburgh is entering the bad place under center just days after bowing out of Wild Card Weekend (again) in lopsided fashion,” Shook writes. “Steelers owner Art Rooney II even suggested Rodgers may not be interested in returning now that Tomlin has departed, potentially pouring cold water on the QB’s inclusion on this list. But if any team desperately needs a 42-year-old future Hall of Famer to delay his expected retirement and make one more go at it, it’s Pittsburgh, where Rodgers enjoyed a relatively resurgent 2025 season and proved he can still sling it.
“Convincing him to run it back, however, might be too steep of an ask.”
It indeed seems very unlikely that Rodgers would want to return to Pittsburgh for a second season. Though he enjoyed his time and says he found his love for the game of football again, Tomlin was a major reason why he chose the Steelers in the first place.
But if Rodgers is open to returning to Pittsburgh for 2026, depending on who the next head coach is, the Steelers should do all that they can to run it back with him. It’s not as if they have better options right now, to be fair.
The 2026 NFL Draft class doesn’t look all that good at the most important position in sports, especially with Oregon’s Dante Moore returning to school, setting up the 2027 NFL Draft class to be very good at quarterback.
There are some intriguing free agent options at quarterback this offseason, led by Malik Willis, a name that has been connected to the Steelers time and time again in recent weeks after his impressive play late in the season for the Green Bay Packers. But he could demand a significant contact, one similar to the one Justin Fields signed last offseason with the New York Jets.
Mason Rudolph and rookie Will Howard remain on the roster, so Pittsburgh at least has one experienced quarterback returning in 2026 for the new head coach and play caller to work with, at least early in the offseason.
But barring a shock in the draft or a significant splash in free agency, the Steelers might be in a bad place at quarterback. That’s why Rodgers could make sense for one final season, should he choose too.
Again, Tomlin’s depature will undoubtedly affect Rodgers’ mindset. But if the Steelers can sway him somehow, it would be worth it for one more season as Pittsburgh transitions.