Aaron Rodgers enters the 2026 NFL offseason as a free agent after playing on a one-year deal for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. What his next move will be remains to be seen.
There has been speculation that he could opt to reunite with head coach Mike McCarthy for another season with the Steelers. However, there have also been rumors swirling around that he could choose retirement or to sign with another team.
Pittsburgh will need to figure things out with Rodgers early on in the offseason. Should the Steelers lose out on the future Hall of Famer, they would be in some hot water at the quarterback position.
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Currently, Pittsburgh has Will Howard on the roster as a potential starting option. Mason Rudolph could also be back and start. Neither of those two options would be ideal for a team that wants to compete for championships.
Keeping that in mind, a few backup plan options have been suggested for Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, they would all be nightmare scenarios for the Steelers in 2026.
Jacob Punturi of ON SI has suggested that Pittsburgh could look into veteran quarterback options like Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor, and Marcus Mariota.
“Three that stand out are Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor and Marcus Mariota,” Punturi wrote. “Admittedly, this quartet is unimpressive at this stage of their careers, but each has played at least one playoff game and has at least 10 seasons of NFL experience.”
If the offseason ended and the Steelers had one of those four quarterbacks as their starter, their championship hopes for 2026 would likely be over before they began. Pittsburgh has to figure out a way to end up with a better option than that.
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Some rumblings have connected the Steelers as a potential trade suitor for Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud or Kyler Murray from the Arizona Cardinals. Those trade targets would be much better than Flacco, Garoppolo, Taylor, or Mariota.
Hopefully, Rodgers chooses to return for one more season in Pittsburgh. If the Steelers are able to convince him to return, they would keep their Super Bowl window open and give themselves another year to figure out if Howard or a rookie they take in the 2026 NFL Draft can be a long-term answer.