INDIANAPOLIS — It’s officially A-Rod Watch 2.0.
This sequel, though, won’t be like that long-running original. It’s looking more like a limited engagement.
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan on Tuesday said the team would “welcome” Aaron Rodgers back for the 2026 season. Unlike last year, though, the Steelers don’t expect to be waiting until June to get official word from the quadragenarian quarterback that he’s on board.
“I’ve been in communication with Aaron,” Khan said from the site of the NFL combine that gets underway in earnest Wednesday. “I know (new coach Mike McCarthy) has also. We’ve (had) good communication — honest communication — but nothing new to report there.
“(There is) no deadline,” Khan said moments later. “All I’ll tell you guys is I don’t foresee this going like it did last year.”
Omar Khan on the Steelers finding their QB of the future pic.twitter.com/PLaGRwfyQF
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) February 24, 2026
Last spring, Rodgers did not sign with the Steelers until June 5. Publicly, the four-time NFL most valuable player wavered about his desire to play a 21st pro season even as the Steelers progressed through all of their organized team activities without a clear starting quarterback on the roster.
Rodgers ended up joining the team in time for mandatory minicamp and quickly jelled with offensive teammates while being a full-time participant at training camp. He ended up going 10-6 as a starter, leading the Steelers to their first AFC North title in five years while passing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Though Rodgers turned 42 in December and struggled in a 30-6 home playoff loss to the Houston Texans, the QB free-agent market and draft class are each considered weak.
Last summer, Rodgers was saying he believed 2025 would be his last season. The Steelers, meanwhile, at that time were preparing to acquire their quarterback of the future in 2026. Circumstances, though, shifted – and now, it appears the marriage between Rodgers and his third NFL team is likely to extend for one more season.
“I’ll say this,” Khan said from the Conrad hotel, adjacent to the Indiana Convention Center which is connected to Lucas Oil Stadium, “we’d certainly welcome Aaron back. It was a really good experience with him (in 2025). I really enjoyed getting to know him and he was great to have around.
“But the reality is we’re all searching for that next guy (at quarterback), the next 10- to 15-year guy. So I guess right now, all options are on the table. It’s still early. This is going to be fluid.”
The first public step in that fluid process is the combine, where 16 of the top college quarterback prospects eligible for next month’s draft have convened for testing, medical evaluation and interviews.
Free agency starts in two weeks, when Rodgers and about two dozen other veteran QBs are free to sign with any team. That list grew by one Tuesday when new Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham told reporters his team will release veteran Kirk Cousins on the day the new NFL league year begins March 11.
The 37-year-old Cousins, who was benched in 2024 and made only eight starts last season, joins the likes of Daniel Jones, Joe Flacco and Malik Willis. All are candidates for the Steelers if Rodgers does not work out.
Though the Steelers could potentially miss out on those options if they are still waiting on Rogers, Khan resisted suggesting that the Steelers wanted to hear from Rodgers before free agency began.
“I don’t really want to say it has to be done by then,” Khan said. “I would like to have an idea, but it just isn’t going to go like it did last year.
“We’ve had a conversation (with Rodgers) and we’ve expressed it was a really good experience (last year) with him.”
