The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers to play out the final year of his career, in all likelihood. However, should Rodgers perform above expectation – as in, take the Steelers to the postseason in his first year at the helm – there is always a chance he chooses to take the path less traveled, pull a Tom Brady and keep playing until his arm falls off. If that were to occur – and we're deep down the rabbit hole at this point in the graf – it won't come with the Steelers.
Rodgers flew a large number of his new teammates out to Malibu for a practice session this week. It's clear he's taking his tenure in Pittsburgh seriously, and much of that is due to the mutual respect he has with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Steelers latest trade dropped some clues for life after Aaron Rodgers
This past week, the Steelers traded for former Miami Dolphins defensive back Jalen Ramsey, and tight end Jonnu Smith. Both will be welcomed additions to the Steelers roster, as Ramsey is a Swiss-army knife in Pittsburgh's secondary while Smith has played in OC Arthur Smith's offense before.
The Steelers had to give up Minkah Fitzpatrick in return, which was a tough pill to swallow for a fanbase used to watching the former All-Pro make plays in black and gold. It's also the cost of doing business. As part of that deal, the Steelers and Dolphins exchanged draft picks in what looked like a rudimentary add-on from Pittsburgh's point of view. Yet, it should be noted that the selections weren't in 2026, but instead 2027. That tells us all we need to know about Rodgers' tenure with the Steelers – it will be short-lived.
Omar Khan has a plan for the Steelers at QB
The Steelers are accumulating as many resources as possible in hopes of finding their quarterback of the future in 2026. Whether that is Arch Manning, LaNorris Sellers, Drew Allar or Garrett Nussmeier, I do not know, but the Steelers passed on taking a quarterback early in the 2025 draft for good reason, as the class was relatively weak as compared to years past. The 2026 class shouldn't have that problem, especially near the top of the draft.
Even if Tomlin and Rodgers lead the Steelers to the postseason and win a game, they will still have the ammo necessary to replace AR on the fly. That's incredibly important, as Pittsburgh fans are tired of replacing one veteran quarterback with another.
Rodgers and the Steelers must know that this is a one-year arranged marriage. The good news for Pittsburgh is that Omar Khan has already planned his next move.