A rumor no more, Aaron Rodgers commits to Steelers on 1-year deal

The wait is over: For the second year in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback on their roster.

It took longer than many people expected, but Aaron Rodgers ended several months of contemplation and agreed to join the Steelers. He plans to fly to Pittsburgh on Friday and sign a one-year contract. The Steelers begin mandatory minicamp next week.

NFL Network and ESPN initially reported the Rodgers decision.

Rodgers, 41, is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history, winning four league MVP awards. He also has a Super Bowl ring for leading the Green Bay Packers to a victory against the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV after the 2010 season. He spent the past two seasons with the New York Jets.

Rodgers will replace Russell Wilson, whom the Steelers didn’t actively pursue in free agency before he signed with the New York Giants.

Rodgers and Mason Rudolph, who rejoined the Steelers in March after a one-year stint in Tennessee, are among those in a quarterback group that will be completely overhauled for the second consecutive year. Justin Fields and Kyle Allen joined Wilson in departing in free agency.

The Steelers also have Skylar Thompson under contract, and they selected former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

Rodgers will get a chance to face each of his former teams this season. The Steelers open Sept. 9 against the Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. Their marquee home game is an Oct. 26 matchup in prime time against the Packers.

The Steelers made Rodgers an offer at the outset of free agency after they learned Fields would sign with the Jets. Rodgers met with the team March 21 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex but continued to delay a decision about whether he wanted to play in 2025. The Giants also made Rodgers an offer before signing Wilson, and the Minnesota Vikings showed at least casual interest in Rodgers.

“I really wanted to spend more of our time just getting to know him better and things that he values as a player and a man, and what he might be looking for with his next stop,” coach Mike Tomlin said in late March when asked about his meeting with Rodgers.

On April 1, team president Art Rooney II said he was willing to wait “not forever but a little while longer” for Rodgers to reach a decision.

Two weeks later, Rodgers appeared on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show” and said he was ironing out personal issues, which prevented him from joining a team.

“I don’t think it’s fair to the Steelers or anyone to make a decision when I’m dealing with a lot off the field,” Rodgers said. “At the same time, I want to keep the lines of communication open. I’ve talked to all the important people. The people that need to know, know what is going on.”

Rodgers’ decision Thursday came on the same day that organized team activities — the last voluntary workout on the offseason schedule — concluded. The Steelers report Tuesday for three-day minicamp.

Rodgers ranks among the top seven quarterbacks all time in career passing yards (62,952) and touchdowns (503).

Rodgers is coming off his worst season, going 5-12 as a starter while posting a career-low 90.5 passer rating.

The Jets parted ways with Rodgers in March, less than two years after they acquired him in a trade.

The Steelers haven’t made it back to the Super Bowl since losing to Rodgers and the Packers in February 2011. They have won only three playoff games in that span — none since the 2016 season.

Rodgers follows Mitch Trubisky, Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Fields and Wilson as quarterbacks who have started for the Steelers since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement following the 2021 season.

Rudolph took first-team snaps during the six organized team activity sessions. He re-signed with the Steelers knowing the organization was looking to add another veteran quarterback.

“That’s nothing new to me,” Rudolph said last week. “There has been constant noise. That is the nature of the NFL. I have been used to that for a long time now. I’ll do nothing but be the best I can be and help our team get better this spring.”

Fields and Wilson shared the starting duties last season. The Steelers went 10-7 but finished with five consecutive losses, including a playoff defeat at Baltimore. After winning six of his first seven starts with the Steelers, the 36-year-old Wilson struggled down the stretch.

That seemingly soured the organization on re-signing him. Instead, they turned to an even older option — but one of the few active quarterbacks with a more sterling career resume than the Super Bowl-winning, 10-time Pro Bowl honoree Wilson.

Rodgers also has been named to 10 Pro Bowl rosters. He is a four-time first-team AP All-Pro and a four-time league passing leader, and he twice led the NFL in touchdown passes. Rodgers joined Tom Brady as the quarterbacks on the league’s all-decade team for the 2010s.

But Rodgers doesn’t come without baggage. In addition to his middling 2024 season, his 2023 campaign ended after just four snaps when he suffered a torn Achilles.

Rodgers also developed a reputation for meddling with team management, publicly expressing disappointment with moves by the Packers late during his tenure in Green Bay and appearing to compel the Jets to acquire many of his former teammates.

Rodgers famously declined a covid-19 vaccine and acknowledged willfully misleading media about it. His weekly appearances on McAfee’s show often became controversial.

Still, Rodgers has one of the most gifted right arms in the history of the sport. He’s the all-time leader in passer rating (102.6) and ranks among the top 20 in completion percentage (65.1%). Perhaps most notably, no quarterback in NFL history has a better interception rate (1.4%), an element that surely appeals to the Steelers and their turnover-averse coach.

It was during a 2021 game at Lambeau Field that Rodgers and Tomlin smirked at each other in what appeared to be a sign of open mutual admiration. It took five years and several other starting quarterbacks, but Tomlin and Rodgers have finally united.

Staff writer Chris Adamski contributed.