{"id":837425,"date":"2026-03-27T18:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T18:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/837425\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T18:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T18:43:17","slug":"former-steelers-qb-shares-aaron-rodgers-theory-as-pittsburgh-awaits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/837425\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Steelers QB Shares Aaron Rodgers Theory as Pittsburgh Awaits"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s hard to keep track of all the people weighing in on future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers<\/a>‘ NFL<\/a> future, so let’s just recap the highlights from the past week.<\/p>\n

Newly acquired Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. told Kay Adams<\/a> that he has not “talked to Aaron” but believes the 42-year-old four-time NFL MVP will “try to play as long as he can.”<\/p>\n

Steelers All-Pro defensive lineman Cameron Heyward did talk to Rodgers and, on his “Not Just Footbal<\/a>l” podcast, said, “I think he’s gonna play.”<\/p>\n

FS1 First Things First co-host Nick Wright has weighed in several times, calling Rodgers a “snowflake<\/a>” and questioning why the Steelers don’t have “enough organizational self-respect<\/a>” to move on from an indecisive Rodgers.<\/p>\n

Newly hired Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said it would “be a great story<\/a>” to return to Pittsburgh and again be coached by McCarthy, who was the Green Bay Packers head coach during 13 of Rodgers’ 18 seasons in Green Bay \u2014 winning a Super Bowl together 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

Why not add Charlie Batch to the mix?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“When it comes to Aaron, this is a guy who outplayed his contract,” Batch said on “The Snap Count<\/a>” this week. “I will stand by this. I may be the only one saying this at this particular point. “This decision is coming down to money. The Steelers would like him to come back, but it\u2019s not going to be at the $13 million number.”<\/p>\n

Batch continued, “I\u2019m sure Aaron, and I have not spoken to him, but I\u2019m sure his representatives are wanting something closer to $30 [million], and you hope that, somewhere, you meet in the middle. If they’re able to do so, Aaron will be back. If not, he’s gonna walk away and say, ‘I’m done.’ That’s why you have not heard his decision.”<\/p>\n

Batch was Pittsburgh’s backup quarterback for eight seasons between 2003 and 2012, winning Super Bowl XL with the team. <\/p>\n

Rodgers signed<\/a> a one-year contract with the Steelers last June. At the time, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported<\/a> Rodgers’ contract was for $13.6 million with $10 million guaranteed and a maximum value of $19.5 million through incentives.<\/p>\n

In his first year with the Steelers, Rodgers threw for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions on 65.7% completion. <\/p>\n

Excluding injury-riddled seasons, Rodgers’ 3,322 yards passing and 24 touchdowns are the lowest marks of his career<\/a> since becoming the Packers’ full-time starter in 2008. Rodgers missed all but four snaps of the 2023 season with the New York Jets due to a torn Achilles. In Green Bay, Rodgers fractured his collarbone<\/a> in 2013 and broke his right clavicle<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n

Last season, Rodgers only missed one game after fracturing<\/a> his non-throwing wrist. The Steelers finished 10-7 and made the playoffs, where they were promptly wholloped by the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card. Longtime Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down<\/a>, and McCarthy was hired to replace him.<\/p>\n

If Rodgers does not return to the Steelers, Pittsburgh could turn toward Will Howard as the 2026 starter, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported<\/a> the Steelers “believe” in the 2025 sixth-round pick out of Ohio State. However, Schefter noted, the Steelers remain “hopeful” and “optimistic” that Rodgers will be their QB1 again.<\/p>\n

What does Aaron Rodgers have to say about Aaron Rodgers’ impending decision?<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve talked to Mike; I’ve talked to [Steelers GM Omar Khan],” Rodgers told The Pat McAfee Show<\/a> on March 4. “There’s been no deadline that’s been put in front of me. There\u2019s no contract offer or anything, so there\u2019s nothing that I\u2019m having to debate between. I\u2019m a free agent. I\u2019m enjoying my time with my wife<\/a> and enjoying this part of the offseason.”<\/p>\n

He continued, “I think there\u2019s conversations to be had down the line, but right now, there hasn\u2019t been any progressive conversations.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s hard to keep track of all the people weighing in on future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,7,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-837425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","13":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","14":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116302618463143779","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}