Rooney said recent developments point to Aaron Rodgers playing for the Steelers but the team won’t wait forever.
Pittsburgh Steelers team President Art Rooney II said all signs point to Aaron Rodgers signing with the team this offseason.
The longtime veteran was cut by the New York Jets after two seasons. The 41-year-old Rodgers has reportedly been taking his time in making a decision between several suitors to play for in 2025, or possibly to retire. In a
press gaggle outside a session of the NFL Annual Meetings Tuesday, Rooney said that recent developments, especially his throwing session with newly-signed receiver D.K. Metcalf, point toward him signing with the Steelers.
“Nothing new on the Aaron Rodgers front,” Rooney began. “We‘ll see what happens, and hopefully we’ll know something soon.”
“Are you content to wait?” a reporter then asked.
“Well, not forever,” Rooney replied. “But a little while longer ... didn’t envision it taking this long.”
Rodgers was cut by the Jets in February. His football future has been the subject of significant speculation. Rumors circulated that he was a top candidate for multiple teams with an open quarterback position, most notably the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and Steelers. The Vikings put any rumors of signing Rodgers to bed last week when they announced they were moving forward with 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy as their starter. The Giants, meanwhile, signed
Russell Wilson—who started 11 games for the Steelers last season and helped lead the team to the playoffs—and Jameis Winston in free agency.
Rodgers met with the Steelers’ coaching staff on March 21. The visit reportedly lasted
six hours and was “positive,” with both sides agreeing to keep in touch. Separate reports claimed the meeting was a chance for the two sides to
get to know each other.
Rooney confirmed that meeting on Tuesday. “It was good meeting him,” he said. “We talked about Pittsburgh and all the Pittsburgh coaches he’s had over the years. We talked about [the Greenfield neighborhood] and how much he knows about Greenfield. We had a good conversation.”
Mike McCarthy, who coached Rodgers and the Packers to a win over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, grew up in Greenfield.
Rodgers also reportedly had a throwing session with wide receiver D.K. Metcalf at UCLA this weekend. Photos and
videos were posted to social media of Rodgers throwing to Metcalf. The Steelers
traded their second and seventh round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Metcalf and a sixth-round pick. Metcalf also signed a
four-year extension worth $132 million.
“I would say it’s a good sign that he wanted to do that,” Rooney said of Rodgers’s and Metcalf’s private workout.
“We keep hearing that he’s, I guess, headed in our direction. So it seems to be [that] all signs are positive so far ... so I'd say we feel pretty good about it.”
The Steelers currently have only two quarterbacks on their roster at the moment. Mason Rudolph, a 2018 third-round draft pick who appeared in 21 games for the team in his first six seasons in the NFL, re-signed with the team after spending the 2024 season with the Tennessee Titans. Pittsburgh also signed Skylar Thompson, who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2022 and played spot duty in his first three seasons.
The Steelers could target a quarterback in this year’s draft but are considered far out of range of the top two QBs, Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. The Steelers have recently been
projected to take Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart with their first-round pick.
With much of the quarterback market settled and the NFL Draft approaching, Rodgers is still taking his time. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said at his own
press conference Monday that the team is not operating on any deadlines in terms of a decision.
“I haven’t thought a lot about it,” Tomlin said. “There is no drop-dead date specifically in my mind.”
