Aaron Rodgers talks 2026, which will entail "options"

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Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers possibly will play his last game of the season on Sunday night. Whether it's the last game of his career, the last game of his first year with the Steelers, or his last game with the Steelers before going elsewhere remains to be seen.

In response to the direct question about what he'll do in 2026, Rodgers officially has nothing to say.

"I don't really want to get too deep into it, you know?" Rodgers said near the end of his midweek press conference on Wednesday. "Obviously, I'll talk to my wife. and then, you know, hopefully that's a decision down the line, but I'm not really going to talk about anything."

Before that, there were clues about the possibilities he's been pondering.

The threshold question is whether believes he still has the ability to play, now that he's 42.

"I hope I can get through this stretch and and feel good physically, so that's not in the conversation," Rodgers said.

So if: (1) he still wants to play; and (2) he thinks he still has the physical ability to do it, what will he do?

Option A. Come back for a second year in Pittsburgh. There's reason to think he has pondered the possibility that 2026 could be even better than 2025.

"You know, anytime you're in a first-year offense, there's always some growing pains within the offense," Rodgers said. "It's always like you feel like if you had another year, you know, what you could do. And I look at 2019, the way I played in 2019, and then kind of the adjustments we made in the offseason, and then the way I played in 2020, which was just in a whole kind of different level, where I felt like — and I used to tease [Packers coach Matt] LaFleur about this whole time — I was a game manager in 2019, and a game impactor in 2020 and 2021."

LaFleur, who arrived in Green Bay in 2019, brought a new offense with him. By year two, Rodgers won the first of two straight MVP awards. Could Rodgers be thinking he'll be dramatically better in a second year in Pittsburgh?

"I think a lot of this is familiarity with the offense and with the guys," Rodgers added, "and we've done the best we could with our conversations and our meeting time, outside the facility, and our meeting time in the facility, but obviously, the more years you get the system with the same guys, the more continuity you have, the better you feel like you can play."

Option B. Join what would be his fourth team.

"I'm on a one-year deal, so, you know what the situation is," Rodgers said. "Whenever the season ends, I'll be a free agent. So that'll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. [Not] a lot of options, but there'll be options I would think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play. But I've enjoyed this experience and everybody in Pittsburgh's been fantastic to me on and off the field and it's really what I was hoping for, for this experience, because it's been even better than I was hoping."

That opens an interesting door for 2026. What would his options be? He reportedly wanted to play for the Vikings in 2025. Will he be interested again? Will the Vikings be interested this time around?

Other possibilities include: the Jets (not really; just making sure you're paying attention); the Dolphins (if he'll take a bargain-basement deal); the Browns; the Ravens (if they end up trading Lamar Jackson, which remains unlikely); the Colts (depending on what happens with Daniel Jones); the Raiders (who didn't want him in 2025); the Falcons (if they don't keep Kirk Cousins and if they don't believe Michael Penix Jr. will be ready to go after ACL surgery); and the Cardinals.

That's the full universe of possibilities, barring future developments (like, say, a starting quarterback for a playoff team suffering a 12-month injury in the postseason). For his part, Rodgers will want to play for a true contender.

"It's been a really special year, and we're playing meaningful football in December and January now, which is what I wanted after the last couple years," Rodgers said.

The ultimate question, if Rodgers plays, will be whether he thinks the Steelers will contend again in 2026. If they fail to make the playoffs, and if coach Mike Tomlin moves on, that most likely will close the door on a second season with the Steelers.

Whenever Pittsburgh's playoff run ends (starting with a playoff play-in game in three days), Rodgers's status for next year will become a significant storyline. Just like it was in 2022. And 2023. And 2025.

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