Aaron Rodgers Returns to Steelers for 22nd and Final NFL Season as Mike McCarthy Reunion Seals Deal
Updated
Updated · NBC Sports · May 20
Aaron Rodgers Returns to Steelers for 22nd and Final NFL Season as Mike McCarthy Reunion Seals Deal
15 articles · Updated · NBC Sports · May 20
Rodgers said 2026 will be his last NFL season and that he returned to Pittsburgh only after the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, signing a one-year deal for his 22nd season.
McCarthy’s arrival reversed Rodgers’ doubts about staying after Mike Tomlin stepped away; Rodgers said he thought Tomlin’s departure was probably the end of his time in Pittsburgh.
Rodgers also said he urged general manager Omar Khan to interview McCarthy, then warmed to the idea of playing for his former coach once the hiring became serious.
The reunion closes a loop that had appeared strained after a 2019 report detailed past friction, and gives the 42-year-old four-time MVP one last shot at a second Super Bowl ring.
Rodgers and McCarthy last worked together in Green Bay and won their only championship in the 2010 season.
Can a Rodgers-McCarthy reunion overcome the NFL's worst-ranked organization for one last Super Bowl run?
Is Rodgers' final season a genius 'win-now' move or a desperate gamble delaying an inevitable Steelers rebuild?