The end of Aaron Rodgers’ career finally has a date.
After signing a one-year deal to rejoin the Pittsburgh Steelers on May 18, Rodgers revealed to reporters that the 2026 season will officially be his last in the NFL.
“This is it,” Rodgers said on Wednesday.
Rodgers, 42, made the decision after contemplating retirement this offseason. In fact, Rodgers admitted that he thought he was going to retire when Mike Tomlin stepped down as Steelers head coach this offseason. But his mind changed when the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, who was his head coach for 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
“I thought that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh,” Rodgers told reporters. “But when the decision was made to hire Mike [McCarthy], I began opening my thoughts again as much as coming again.”
Rodgers and McCarthy achieved good success collectively in Inexperienced Bay, profitable Tremendous Bowl XLV over Pittsburgh within the 2010 season. Collectively, they recorded 107 wins and made 9 playoff appearances.
Underneath McCarthy’s system, Rodgers grew to become one of the crucial environment friendly quarterbacks in NFL historical past. He gained two of his 4 NFL MVP awards in 2011 and 2014 whereas main Inexperienced Bay’s offense at an elite degree.
“It is sort of a [bunch of] ‘pinch me’ moments which have occurred in the previous few days,” Rodgers mentioned following the Steelers’ second day of organized staff actions.
Rodgers already owns a Corridor of Fame résumé and is extensively anticipated to change into a first-ballot inductee. He wanted solely 144 video games to achieve 300 profession passing touchdowns and 193 video games to hit 400, breaking information beforehand held by Peyton Manning and Dan Marino.
He additionally shares the very best profession passer ranking in NFL historical past amongst certified quarterbacks at 102.2. Rodgers’ 2011 season stays one of many biggest by a quarterback, as he posted a record-setting 122.5 passer ranking.
Rodgers is coming off a powerful season in Pittsburgh, finishing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions whereas serving to lead the Steelers to an AFC North title. If he hopes to finish his profession with one other championship run, the trail via the AFC stays as tough as ever.
As for what to anticipate for this season, our Ralph Vacchiano predicted that the Steelers would go 8-9 in 2026 following Thursday’s schedule launch. Vacchiano added that he believes that the “Steelers’ season is driving on the previous shoulders of Aaron Rodgers.”
“Whoever their quarterback is will instantly have a more durable problem if Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow can keep wholesome, making the AFC North video games rather more of a minefield,” Vacchiano wrote. “The Steelers additionally should go on the street to New England and Philadelphia, and even their journey to Jacksonville gained’t be straightforward. Enjoying the NFC South and AFC South provides them loads of comfortable spots within the schedule. However ending first final season gave them their division’s hardest schedule. Given their fragile state, caught between contending and rebuilding, that’s not a lot of a prize.”
Does Mike McCarthy want Aaron Rodgers to succeed with the Steelers?
Vacchiano additionally had the Steelers drop to No. 25 in his most recent power rankings after the schedule announcement.
“Seven of their final 9 video games are in opposition to groups projected to win September 11 video games. Aaron Rodgers’ 42-year-old physique ought to be aching fairly good by then,” Vacchiano wrote.
However the stage is now set for one remaining chapter in Pittsburgh below a well-recognized coach. When the clock lastly hits triple zeros on No. 12’s profession, one of many biggest careers for a quarterback in NFL historical past will come to an finish.
