Forget the speculation and rumors; the first definitive verdict on Aaron Rodgers’ future in Pittsburgh is in, and it comes directly from the locker room. The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ season is over, but the campaign to keep Aaron Rodgers in town has just begun—led by the players themselves. While most of the NFL debates the QB’s next move, his teammates in Pittsburgh have reportedly ended the speculation with a unified message for the organization.

“Almost to a man, Steelers players universally praised Aaron Rodgers during their exit interviews last week, and most, if not all of them, want the veteran quarterback to return in 2026,” ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter reported.

It’s not a shocker that the locker room feels this way. The last offseason, even before the Steelers’ training camp started, Rodgers began to bond with his top target, wide receiver D.K. Metcalf. The QB hosted private dinners and film study sessions at his home for the Steelers squad. He struck that just-right blend of a QB who is fun and approachable, yet carries the authority to lead. 

Pittsburgh has always been all about bonding and personal relationships, thanks to the way former head coach Mike Tomlin operated. That culture explains a lot about why the locker room wants Rodgers to stay. 

“If you’re going to get the best out of someone in a leadership position, they got to do it in a natural way, in their voice,” Tomlin said. “You’re cutting their leadership legs out from under them when you’re asking them to be somebody they’re not. And so I think it’s negligent to ask him [Aaron Rodgers] to be anything other than himself.” 

Tomlin brought in Rodgers to salvage the Steelers’ playoff drought under his watch and finally break through with a deep postseason run. The emotion was high, but that plan clearly fell short. The Steelers barely scraped into the playoffs before getting crushed 30-6 by the Houston Texans in a humiliating exit.

Still, Rodgers clearly made a real impact on the locker room. Players “want the four-time league MVP back and have conveyed as much to various members of the Steelers organization,” per Schefter.

Yet many believe Pittsburgh is just wasting its long-term future by dealing with Rodgers in the first place. The front office disagrees, but the real question lingers: Will A-Rod even be interested in dealing with Pittsburgh again? 

Will Aaron Rodgers give the Steelers a second shot without Tomlin?

Rodgers’ coming to Pittsburgh had everything to do with Tomlin. With the head coach now gone, a reunion seems uncertain. Even the Steelers owner Art Rooney II admitted Tomlin’s leaving “will most likely affect his [Rodgers’] decision” of coming back to play in Pittsburgh.

Still, the front office isn’t closing the door on Rodgers. According to Schefter, the Steelers “remain open to an Aaron Rodgers reunion in 2026.” But the update features another key factor missing from Pittsburgh now.

“I do not expect him to return now that Tomlin is not back,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on his X account. “We may have seen the last of Rodgers in the NFL.”

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Even Schefter marked the extension between the parties as “unlikely.” Actually, Rodgers’ staying in the organization depends a lot on who the next head coach will be. Rooney has made it clear that the new HC will be the guiding factor in all the decisions in Pittsburgh.

“I think it’s too early to say what effect it’s going to have on the roster. The new coach obviously is going to have a lot to say in that,” Rooney said. “We’ll have that discussion when the time comes.” 

In the end, if the Steelers go with Rodgers again, they just delay the process of finding a permanent solution to their revolving QB conundrum. As for Rodgers, the quarterback says he’s “not going to make any emotional decisions” about his future in the league.