Going into his 22nd NFL season, all eyes continue to be on Aaron Rodgers simply due to what he can still produce on the field. Last season was his first with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he was able to help them win the AFC North title. However, after an early exit in the wildcard round, question marks began to be raised on if he had it in him for another season.
However, former NFL guard Geoff Schwartz was certain that the Pittsburgh Steelers QB was positive about being able to deliver another season of top-notch football as a starter.
“The only way he gets benched is if they’re out of the playoffs,” Schwartz said on First Things First. “That’s the only way, right? He’s not what he used to be, but he’s also not even close to bad enough to bench. He won’t be this year. I don’t think Rodgers would come back to play football if he thought he was anywhere close to being benched for a young quarterback, and sort of, it’s not really embarrassing, but not the way he wanted to end his career, right?
“Sitting on the sideline in Week 11 as Drew Allar is taking snaps in front of him, right? And you look at what they’ve done to improve the offense. He’s in a familiar offense now with McCarthy as well. He’s going to play well enough to not get benched. He’s gonna play well enough to help them win some football games… Like he’s right in the middle, and that’s good enough for them to win. But he’s never going to be bad enough to be benched, and unless he gets hurt, he’s not losing the job.”
Despite the age creeping up, 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers has consistently racked up over 3,000 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in the last two seasons representing the New York Jets (2024) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2025).
Rodgers will be entering the 2026 season with a familiar offensive unit, including Jaylen Warren (RB), DK Metcalf (WR), and Pat Freiermuth (TE). On top of that, Mike McCarthy, who won Super Bowl XLV with Rodgers for the Green Bay Packers, was roped in as the head coach by Pittsburgh earlier this year.
Considering these factors, Geoff Schwartz, who had an eight-season stint in the NFL representing the Carolina Panthers (2008–2011), Minnesota Vikings (2012), Kansas City Chiefs (2013), New York Giants (2014–2015), and Detroit Lions (2016), believes the possibility of Aaron Rodgers having a bad 2026 season, to that extent he gets benched, is near to negligible.
Rodgers is entering his final NFL season. Earlier this year, in May, when reporters asked the Steelers signal-caller if the upcoming season would be his last, he answered without hesitation, “Yes. This is it.”
So, by the end of the season, if the stipulations of playoff qualification or games move out of the picture, Pittsburgh might want to try their rookie QBs Will Howard and Drew Allar and prepare them as the franchise’s long-term quarterbacks. Both of them have shown immense talent, and with the chance of learning under Rodgers, they certainly will have developed some great habits that will help them in the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers has been someone who has returned time and again after discussing his retirement. Even following the wild-card playoff loss with the Pittsburgh Steelers in January 2026 against the Houston Texans, Rodgers was ready to walk away. But when Mike McCarthy joined the Steelers, he decided to return.
Keeping that in mind, is there a possibility of Rodgers making a return after the 2026 season? Only time will tell. But in a few days, on September 13, the veteran QB will kick off the 2026 season against the Atlanta Falcons.