Aaron Rodgers says his decision to return for a 21st NFL season and to do so in Pittsburgh was not about trying to prove something to himself, the New York Jets or anyone else.
Standing in front of a sea of cameras for his first press conference as a Steeler, the 41-year-old Rodgers said the coda he is trying to author in Pittsburgh is about something deeper than football.
“A lot of decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling,” Rodgers said on Tuesday after the first day of Pittsburgh’s mandatory minicamp. “But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So this was a decision that was best for my soul.”
And one the Steelers believe is best for business, one of the reasons they put no pressure on Rodgers during the spring as he dealt with off-the-field issues that he has said included having multiple people in his inner circle battle cancer.
Rodgers said those issues “have improved a bit,” clearing the way for him to join a team that has bounced from one quarterback to another since Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season.
He added that the Steelers’ long-time head coach Mike Tomlin, who has never had a losing season since taking over the team in 2007, was a major factor in his decision to return to football. The two stayed in contact over the last few months, producing what Rodgers called “some of the coolest conversations I’ve had in the game.”
“It starts with Mike Tomlin,” Rodgers said. “I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. There’s a few iconic franchises in the NFL. I played for one of ‘em for 18 years. This is another one of those. There’s something special about obviously this area. So many great quarterbacks are from Pittsburgh. I feel like Pittsburgh has been a part of my career from the beginning.”
Rodgers, who has worked out with recently acquired DK Metcalf in recent months, hopes some of the Steelers’ skill position players can join him at his home in Malibu, California, sometime before they report for the team’s full training camp on 23 July.
If they do, they may get a chance to meet Rodgers’ wife. Rodgers was spotted wearing what looked like a wedding band when he signed his Steelers contract. Rodgers confirmed on Tuesday that he was married “a couple months” ago but declined to get into details. Rodgers has revealed little about his wife. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show last fall, he mentioned he was dating a woman named Brittani but offered no other details.
Usually, Rodgers is not afraid to express his views about many topics, from vaccines to politics and beyond. But on Tuesday, he stuck to football.
“It’s hard to think of anything in my life that’s positive that wasn’t impacted by directly or indirectly by playing this game,” he said. “So [I] just want to give love back to the game, enjoy it, pass on my knowledge to my teammates, and try and find ways to help lead the team.”
The Steelers are unlikely to get the version of Rodgers who once cut a swathe through the NFL in his prime with the Green Bay Packers, winning four league MVP awards and a Super Bowl along the way. Rodgers’s tenure with his last team, the Jets, was brief and rocky. After a torn achilles ended his 2023 debut after just four snaps, he returned in 2024 to start all 17 games. Though he threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns, the Jets finished just 5-12, and Rodgers ranked outside the top 25 in most efficiency metrics. The team sputtered to a 3-7 record in one-score games.
Without Rodgers, the Steelers would probably have started Mason Rudolph, who recently rejoined the team from the Tennessee Titans. However, Rudolph was a modest quarterback at best during his first stint with the team.
Rodgers will face a familiar foe in Week 1 of the upcoming season: Pittsburgh are scheduled to play the Jets in their 2025 opener. They play the Packers in Week 8.
