Those waiting on Aaron Rodgers will have to wait a little longer.
The Steelers have not received word from Rodgers on his future, and there is no expectation of a final decision prior to the start of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Monday.
General manager Omar Khan addressed the Rodgers situation later on Monday in his pre-draft news conference with head coach Mike McCarthy.
"We've had some great communication with Aaron," Khan said. "Nothing's changed, but it's all been positive and good. I said this to you guys in March, he knows how we feel about him and we know how he feels about us."
The three-day span occupied by the draft represents the Steelers' best window to add another quarterback to a roster that includes Will Howard, veteran Mason Rudolph and an empty spot that is clearly being saved for Rodgers. With McCarthy taking over, it's fair for Pittsburgh to assume Rodgers will be back if he intends to continue to playing football in 2026.
The uncertainty that comes with such an "if" seems to have grown a bit as time has passed.
Both sides of this prolonged dance have been here before, having dallied with each other for months at this time a year ago before eventually committing to a season-long partnership. A second spin seemed implausible seven months ago, but after Rodgers helped the Steelers reach the postseason in 2025, mutual interest appeared between the two parties both before and after Pittsburgh made the surprising decision to hire McCarthy, the hometown kid with a face that is acutely familiar to Rodgers.
Pittsburgh seemed confident enough for Steelers owner Art Rooney II to publicly state in late March he expected an answer from Rodgers "by the draft," yet it now seems the Steelers will have to continue to wait.
"We still evaluate it," Khan said when asked how not yet having an answer from Rodgers impacts the draft. "That doesn't change our evaluation process. We're still putting the guys up where they need to be. We'll just see how it shakes out."
The Steelers have somewhat hedged against this (and a worst-case scenario of Rodgers not returning to football at all) by pushing a narrative of rising confidence in Howard, a Day 3 pick in 2025 (185th overall) who saw zero regular-season action as a rookie. Howard will likely man the QB1 role in spring workouts and could find himself in an unexpected battle for the starting job in July and August if Rodgers' absence continues.
Still, that's a secondary plan, one that the Steelers might have to prepare for by selecting another developmental QB prospect and push a possible roster limit conflict (i.e., trade Rudolph elsewhere at the end of camp) into the late stages of summer. Without a guarantee from Rodgers prior to the draft, everything becomes a bit less stable, even if only temporarily.
Then again, it wouldn't be an offseason without weeks spent wondering about Rodgers' future. Pittsburgh will do its best to navigate the tiresome period while also keeping an eye on the future.
