The veteran field general Aaron Rodgers’ future remains one of the biggest unresolved storylines of the NFL offseason, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting for clarity. With Mike Tomlin no longer on the sideline and Mike McCarthy now leading the franchise, speculation has only intensified over whether Rodgers will return for another season or finally walk away.
That uncertainty has left Pittsburgh in an awkward spot as it tries to shape the rest of its offseason around a 42-year-old veteran signal-caller. Still, one Hall of Famer does not believe retirement is on the table at all.
Hall of Famer Cris Carter Believes Aaron Rodgers Will Play Again in Pittsburgh
Speaking about Rodgers’ future on the “Fully Loaded” podcast, Carter pushed back firmly on the idea that the veteran quarterback is preparing to call time on his career. In Carter’s view, if retirement had truly been Rodgers’ plan, that decision likely would have come much earlier in the process rather than after Pittsburgh’s coaching transition.
“Number one, he’s not going to retire,” said Carter. “Otherwise, he would have done that after the season, or once they named the head coach, because once they named Mike McCarthy as the head coach, the conversation started with Aaron ‘do you have an interest in playing?’ He’s [Mike McCarthy] trying to secure the player; if you put a timetable on it you put the chance of losing the player at greater risk because of the inconsistencies and you force them to speed up the clock.”
Carter also suggested Rodgers’ familiarity with McCarthy could be a major factor, especially at this late stage of his career, when comfort and trust matter as much as scheme.
“So, I believe he’s gonna play,” Carter added. “He had a great experience last year… I’m sure he’d like to go out, even being not a loser, but winning more games than they did. Trying to win a playoff game, and someone he’s familiar with Mike McCarthy. I believe that that’s a game changer for him at this stage.”
Rodgers’ 2025 campaign was respectable on paper, even if it no longer resembled his MVP peak. According to the PFSN’s Quarterback Impact Metric, he posted a 71.4 QB Impact Score, earned a C- grade, and finished 29th in PFSN’s season rankings after starting all 16 games for Pittsburgh.
Across the year, he completed 327 of 498 passes (65.7%) for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while averaging 243.9 passing yards per game and adding 61 rushing yards with one score on the ground.
Pittsburgh finished 10-7 in 2025 and, according to PFSN’s Offense Impact Metric, posted a 76.4 Offensive Impact score, good for 14th in the league. The overall profile painted the Steelers as a competitive but unspectacular team, reflected in their C grade and No. 352 historical overall ranking.
In other words, the roster was solid enough to stay relevant, but not quite explosive enough to feel like a true contender. That is why the Steelers remain stuck in a difficult middle ground.
Rodgers may not be the long-term answer, but Pittsburgh also does not appear to have a better short-term alternative on the roster. Betting on an unproven younger option would carry major risk, especially for a team that still believes it can compete for the postseason right now.
At the same time, the concerns are obvious, as Rodgers is nearing 43, and safe to say that QBs at that age rarely improve. But if Pittsburgh wants stability, experience, and the best available path to relevance, it may have little choice but to keep waiting for his final answer.
