With Mike Tomlin having stepped down from his position as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, it could spell the end of any chances Aaron Rodgers returns in 2026.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, "the early word" is that Rodgers is unlikely to be back in Pittsburgh after Tomlin departed on Tuesday.
“We start with the quarterback, Aaron Rodgers," he said (H/T Steelers Depot). "For all of the discussion about the possibility that Aaron Rodgers could return next year, does anybody think he’s coming back to Pittsburgh if Mike Tomlin isn’t there? Who thought he was coming back anyway, to begin with? So it looks like, the early word, the early sense would be, this certainly diminishes any chance that Aaron Rodgers would return to Pittsburgh.”
Tomlin had a big hand in bringing Rodgers to the Steelers, so it comes as no surprise that Tomlin's departure will have a negative impact on the future Hall of Famer returning to Pittsburgh.
Even if Tomlin had stayed, there was still a chance Rodgers would move on, as he has hinted at retirement before.
And Rodgers has also kept his options open, saying he believes he'll have one or two options in free agency if he does decide to keep playing.
“I’m 42 years old and I’m on a one-year deal, so you know what the situation is," he said. "Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. That will give me a lot of options if I still want to play… maybe one or two.”
As we wait to see what Rodgers will do, we wouldn't expect him to wait as long as he did in 2025 to make a decision, as doing so would greatly limit his options in free agency should he decide to keep playing.
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