According to what ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting, we may be coming up on a soft deadline from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Aaron Rodgers regarding a decision about his playing status next year.

During an appearance Monday on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Schefter told the program that many on the team have lobbied for Rodgers to return. The front office responded by giving Rodgers at least a month to decide if he wanted to continue playing in Pittsburgh, retire or potentially go elsewhere.

“When they had the exit meetings with the Pittsburgh Steelers players, almost to a man, they all wanted Aaron Rodgers back, and the one thing that was conveyed to me was how much respect and love there was from other teammates about Aaron Rodgers and how much they wanted him back,” Schefter said. “The idea at that point and time was to give him about a month.”

Obviously Aaron Rodgers has to decide what he wants to do" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Fouj1wQ4Lw

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 9, 2026

Well, we’re almost a month removed since then. The Steelers lost to Houston on Jan. 12 in the playoffs. The team’s exit meetings occurred the next few days. Schefter made these comments on Feb. 9.

So we’ll soon find out how much of a deadline that truly was, or if it was just a soft suggestion. The Steelers certainly gave Rodgers plenty of time to decide if he was going to join the club in the first place.

He didn’t make a final decision on playing in Pittsburgh until early June of 2025.

The Steelers can’t play those games this year. Not with a new coaching staff being assembled and the NFL Draft coming up in Pittsburgh in April.

Publicly at least, new Pittsburgh coach Mike McCarthy is staying patient with Rodgers’ decision-making process.

“When guys are up there at that stage of their career, they need to step away and decompress,” McCarthy said at his introductory press conference. “The game is so emotional. With what these men commit to, what they put into it, I think that time away is important.”

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Last year, the QB musical chairs game stopped, and both Pittsburgh and Rodgers were left without a seat. So they were just standing there, staring at each other with nowhere else to go. Rodgers might feel comfortable recreating that scenario again this winter.

The Steelers shouldn’t.

“They didn’t hire Mike McCarthy to bring back Aaron Rodgers, but I don’t think that hurts the situation at all. If anything, it helps it,” Schefter continued. “Obviously, Aaron Rodgers has to decide what he wants to do, but I think the Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely would love to have him back and welcome him back.”

I suppose Rodgers could feel tempted to join another team in a better situation, or he may not be warm to the idea of reuniting with McCarthy and could retire.

But this feels like a fait accompli to me. I’d put a Rodgers return in the “when” not “if” category.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk about Aaron Rodgers future during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast

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