Four days post-NFL draft, and the Pittsburgh Steelers still don’t know whether or not quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be playing for them in 2026.
Like last season, Rodgers is dragging out his decision seemingly as long as possible. But unlike last year, the Steelers are better prepared if he chooses retirement after drafting Penn State’s Drew Allar to compete with 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and longtime veteran Mason Rudolph.
The good news for Steelers fans is there does seem to be an end in sight with all the Rodgers drama, according to team president Art Rooney II.
“We’ve been in contact with Aaron on a regular basis,” Rooney stated on NFL Network’s “The Insiders.” “He’s been keeping us up to date on his plans, and even though I thought it probably would have been concluded by now, I think we will come to a conclusion here in the next few weeks.”
Earlier this week, the Steelers placed the rarely used unrestricted free agent tag on Rodgers, meaning if he were to sign with another team, the Steelers would get a compensatory draft pick back.
If Rodgers doesn’t sign with another team by either July 22 or the first day of Steelers’ training camp — whichever one comes later — they’ll secure exclusive negotiating rights with him.
The move, which Rooney said was done to protect the team in case he leaves, also bumps Rodgers’ salary up to $15 million next year.
“The main thing that the tender gives us is the potential for a comp pick if Aaron would choose to go to another team,” Rooney continued. “We don’t expect that, but by the same token, you never know. It’s just something that we had an opportunity to protect if needed.
“The deadline was Monday, so if we were going to do it, we had to pull the trigger on Monday. We alerted Aaron and his representative that we were going to do it, so not a real big deal but just something that if in the unlikely event he goes somewhere else, we are eligible for a comp pick in that situation.”
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