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Pittsburgh Steelers insider Mark Kaboly offered a clear update on when quarterback Aaron Rodgers will make his final 2026 decision.
The Pittsburgh Steelers waited until June 5 to sign quarterback Aaron Rodgers last season. But team insider Mark Kaboly sees Rodgers making his final decision on 2026 much sooner this year.
In fact, Kaboly suggested Friday it could come anytime before 2026 NFL free agency. Kaboly also sees the veteran quarterback coming back to Pittsburgh for his 22nd NFL season.
“I fully expect Rodgers to sign with the Steelers within the next month,” wrote Kaboly.
At the beginning of the offseason, especially around Mike Tomlin’s departure, the expectation was Rodgers would find a new team for 2026 or retire. Steelers president Art Rooney II all but ruled out Rodgers coming back to the black and gold this fall.
But over the past few weeks, insiders from around the league have begun suggesting there’s a good chance Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh for 2026.
Kaboly sees Rodgers coming back as a near certainty. When asked in a Q&A mailbag article on what percentage would he give on Rodgers returning, Kaboly answered, “99.12 percent.”
Steelers Insider Predicts Aaron Rodgers Returns, No Outside QB Pursuit for Pit
In some ways, it doesn’t matter when he re-signs. Last year, he signed in June, and because the Steelers appeared to know he would eventually agree to a contract, they planned their offseason accordingly.
Still, the sooner Rodgers re-signs, assuming that’s what the Steelers want, the better. If for no other reason, the fan base will have a better idea of the team’s 2026 direction in March and April if Rodgers is already under contract.
Kaboly sees that happening. Then with that, Kaboly predicted the Steelers to not pursue any other quarterbacks this spring.
“If you are talking about the 2026 season, there is no realistic QB1 from the outside. Sorry, I am passing on Malik Willis, Mac Jones, and Kyler Murray,” Kaboly wrote. “You might not like this answer, but if we are specifically talking about this year, it’s Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, and then Howard, and then reassess everything next year at this time.”
NFL teams sometimes have four quarterbacks during the offseason and training camp. The most recent example of that was the Cleveland Browns last year.
But the Browns were a circus last summer and eventually traded two of those signal-callers. The Steelers are likely to try and avoid that.
That would mean no other quarterback additions this offseason.
Could the Steelers Re-Sign Rodgers & Draft a QB?
The most logical exception to Kaboly’s argument of no outside QB additions would be the draft. If the Steelers fall in love with a signal-caller during the draft process, they could select him to sit behind Rodgers for a year.
Kaboly, though, addressed why that wouldn’t be an ideal situation.
“It wouldn’t make any sense,” he wrote. “Think about it: If Rodgers comes back and you decide to draft a quarterback in the first day or two of the draft and you love Howard, that means you go into the season with a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback and two backups that have a total of zero NFL snaps. Sure, there are exceptions to everything, but this exception would have to be exceptional.”
In the scenario Kaboly proposed, the Steelers would either trade or release Mason Rudolph.
The 2026 rookie quarterback pundits have linked to the Steelers the most has been Alabama’s Ty Simpson. Kaboly, though, doesn’t see Simpson landing with the Steelers.
Kaboly didn’t give a percentage, but he suggested the possibility Pittsburgh targets Simpson in the draft was quite low.
“I don’t think they would move up to take a quarterback that has a ton of question marks. Saying that, I don’t think they’d draft him if he is there at No. 21,” wrote Kaboly.
With Rodgers back, the Steelers could put quarterback on the back burner in the draft and free agency again. That plan would begin to come to fruition if Rodgers re-signs in the next few weeks.
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
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