The Aaron Rodgers experiment hasn’t quite landed the way he would’ve wanted. It’s been fine. But Rodgers has never measured seasons by “fine.” He wants precision and an offense that feels second nature. And when he was asked whether he’s played the kind of football he expected to this year, he didn’t pretend otherwise.

“I mean, at times, yeah, definitely. Anytime you’re in a first-year offense, there’s always some growing pains within the offense. It’s always you feel like if you had another year, you know what you could do… obviously, the more years you get in a system with the same guys, the more continuity you have, the better you feel like you can play,” the quarterback said.

It’s a familiar argument, and one Rodgers knows well. He pointed back to 2019, when he threw just 26 touchdown passes. In 2020, everything clicked again, and Rodgers exploded for 48 touchdowns. The difference, in his mind, was simple: familiarity.

“I felt like, and I used to tease [Matt] LaFleur about this all the time, I was a game manager in 2019 and a game impactor in 2020 and 2021. I think a lot of that’s just familiarity with the offense and with the guys. We’ve done the best we could with our conversations and our meeting time outside the facility and our meeting time in the facility,” Rodgers said.

Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers has done enough to keep the Pittsburgh Steelers afloat. They’re 9–7. They’ve stayed alive in the AFC North race longer than many expected. Statistically, the year looks solid: 3,068 passing yards, a 65.6 percent completion rate, 23 touchdowns, seven interceptions.

But watching them week to week, something still feels slightly off. The timing isn’t always there, and the easy throws don’t always look easy. And that showed up clearly in Week 17.

Playing without DK Metcalf against the Cleveland Browns, Rodgers struggled. He completed just 53.8 percent of his passes for 168 yards, and the offense never really found a flow. That game is part of the reason Pittsburgh now finds itself in a do-or-die spot against the Baltimore Ravens.

It wasn’t an isolated dip. Rodgers has completed 55 percent or fewer of his passes in three other games this season. Each time, he bounced back the following week with a sharper performance. That pattern offers some hope. But it also underlines the issue.

The connection that once came so naturally, the unspoken understanding between quarterback and receiver, isn’t fully there yet. Maybe it comes with more time, or maybe it doesn’t. Rodgers seems to believe the answer is continuity. And he might have a chance to build that continuity as he contemplates returning next year.

Is Aaron Rodgers retiring soon?

Aaron Rodgers came to Pittsburgh with a one-year plan. The 2025 season was framed that way from the start, and more than once, Rodgers has spoken as if this would be the end. That’s not hard to understand. He’s 42, and the season asks a lot, especially at his position. Still, Rodgers hasn’t shut the door completely.

“I’m 42, and I’m on a 1-year deal. You know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. That’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play — Not a lot of options, but … I would think maybe 1 or 2 if I decide I still want to play,” he said.

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And given the season he’s had, it’s not far-fetched. He hasn’t been vintage Rodgers every week, but he’s shown enough that teams would at least listen. Every time Mike Tomlin steps in front of a microphone, his support for Rodgers comes through clearly. If Rodgers wanted to come back, you could imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers being open to the conversation.

But the bigger question is internal. Somewhere beneath all the analysis and contract talk, there’s probably a part of Rodgers that feels unfinished. And building that familiarity with the offense could also be something that intrigues him. Whether that feeling is strong enough to pull him back is something only he knows. And he probably won’t need much time to figure it out.

As the Steelers head into the final game of the 2025 season, the moment carries extra weight. It could be the last time Aaron Rodgers takes an NFL snap. Or it could be one more chance to push his team into the postseason and remind everyone, including himself, why walking away is never an easy decision.