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The Pittsburgh Steelers had to wait a while, but eventually, Aaron Rodgers signed and gave the perennial AFC North contender, they hope, some stability at the quarterback position.
Rodgers’ two seasons with the New York Jets went about as poorly as one could imagine; moments into his first game with the team, he tore his Achilles tendon and missed the rest of the season, and the following year, the Jets were so bad that they fired their head coach and general manager during the season.
After the disastrous stint in New York, there was widespread speculation about Rodgers’ future, including rumors he might retire. However, after a longer-than-anticipated delay, the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer found himself a home in Pittsburgh.
While the Steelers seemed like an obvious fit from a football perspective, considering their seemingly annual need for a starting quarterback since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, Rodgers said he was convinced after continued conversations with Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin.
“It was honestly more about what he wasn’t saying,” Rodgers said of Tomlin’s message on NFL Network. “At no point during the conversations, which were weekly at least, did I ever feel like I was talking to a coach who needed something from me. ‘I need you to give me this, give me that, give me an answer, give me…’ It was like talking to an old friend. And I just — at my age, at my experience, I just really appreciated that.
“I respected how he talked to me, our conversation, getting to know him, and hearing about his schedule and who’s important in his life. And him asking me, and remembering important things about my life too, it really made an impression on me. I never once got the impression I was talking to a coach who might’ve been talking to me — you know, small talk — but was really wanted to be like, ‘Hey, when you coming in? When you coming in? When you coming in?’. So I just appreciated that. It was like talking to an old friend.”
Why he’s still playing.
Why the Steelers.
Responding to critics.
Getting married. And more.My full conversation with Aaron Rodgers… pic.twitter.com/UaX7lW3cgL
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) July 27, 2025
Unlike many of the coaches around the NFL that Rodgers could have played for this season, Tomlin has been a head coach nearly as long as Rodgers has been playing. This will be the 19th season for Tomlin, the league’s longest-tenured coach, with the Steelers. Similarly, Rodgers is the oldest and longest-tenured active player in the NFL. He is entering the 21st season of his career in 2025.
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