Free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers kept his future plans under wraps during a Thursday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show," saying that he remains in a holding pattern for any major decisions on the 2025 NFL season.
“I’m open to anything,” Rodgers said, “and attached to nothing.”
In his first public media appearance since January, Rodgers said retirement remains a possibility after a 20-year career. He’s also not ruling out the Pittsburgh Steelers as a possible destination. In short, a week from the start of the 2025 NFL Draft, Rodgers doesn’t know what he’s planning on doing -- or at least, he’s not yet ready to reveal anything.
The 41-year-old Rodgers on Thursday cited “personal matters” as a reason he’s delaying any decisions on whether to play football next season. He also mentioned that he’s in a “serious relationship” and has some personal commitments that are his priority now.
“I have a couple people in my inner, inner circle who are battling some difficult stuff. So, I have a lot of things that are taking my attention and have since the beginning of January away from football," Rodgers said. “That’s where I have been focusing most of my attention on. To make a commitment to a team is a big thing, whether you are a first-year player or 20-year vet.”
The team he has been attached to most in recent weeks has been the Steelers. Rodgers quietly met with the Steelers on March 21 and a week later he participated in a throwing session with newly acquired Pittsburgh receiver DK Metcalf at UCLA.
“I wanted to do due diligence with this whole process. Part of it is talking to a guy like DK," Rodgers said. "Let me just say this, what a great dude. What a great dude. He loves football. What a specimen this guy is.”
The Steelers currently have only Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson on the roster at quarterback entering the draft, which begins April 24. Rodgers said the Steelers have not given him a hard deadline for a decision and that he wanted “to keep the lines of communication open” with the team.
“This entire time I haven’t felt like I owed anybody some sort of decision at any point,” he said. “This is my life. I said things are different now. My personal life is different. I have stuff in the inner circle, that I’m intimately close to, that’s really important to me.
“I’ve been upfront with them about that, and said, ‘Listen, if you need to move on. If you need to do something, by all means. By all means.’ Nothing but love and respect if that’s the decision that needs to be made. There’s been no deadline. I’ve talked to [Steelers head coach] Mike [Tomlin] many times.’”
Rodgers also didn’t rule out possibly playing for another team, indicating that money was not a hang-up.
“I’ve been straight up with these teams from the start about where I was at,” he said. “Starting with the money thing, I told every single one of the teams that I was talking to that it ain’t about the money. I’ll play for ($10 million per season). I don’t care.
“I never once said I need a multi-year deal or $30 or $40 million is actual b------. I said, I’ll play for 10.”
Rodgers pushed back against the idea that he hasn’t given the teams he’s met with, including the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, a clear picture of his personal issues and the timetable with which he’s currently operating. From the beginning of free agency, Rodgers said, he’s been upfront with his priorities.
“I told them in March in the beginning, and you could ask any team that I talked to, that was the conversation," Rodgers said. "But also the conversation about where I was at in my personal life. The stuff that I’m dealing with off the field, in my inner circle that has to take my attention right now.
“So, I wasn’t stringing anyone along. I wasn’t holding anybody hostage. I was honest from the jump of where I was at mentally and some of the constraints I have in my life right now that warrant my attention. So, yeah I’m open to anything and attached to nothing. So, yeah retirement could still be a possibility but right now my focus has been and will continue to be my personal life. That’s what I’ve told the coaches.”
One team we know won’t play for is the New York Jets. The quarterback painted a picture of a dysfunctional team during his past two years there and said his first meeting with new head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey did not go well.
After flying across the country for the face-to-face meeting, Rodgers said he expected to meet with the new Jets leadership for “a few hours,” but the meeting ended abruptly when Glenn told him that they were going in a different direction at the position.
“I was kind of shocked,” Rodgers said. “Not shocked because I didn’t think that was a possibility. Listen, of course, if they want to move on, that’s fine. But shocked because I just flew across the country, and you could have told me this on the phone.”
Rodgers clearly was annoyed with how that interaction played out. But during his 40-plus minute appearance with McAfee, Rodgers appeared content to play his NFL future by ear, at least until his personal issues are cleared up.
“I am trying to be open to everything and not being attached to anything,” he said.