Just when it looked like Aaron Rodgers was destined to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Adam Schefter is here to drop a bombshell on football fans. The prominent NFL insider spoke on ESPN Milwaukee, where he claimed that the 41-year-old quarterback ‘may not want to play’ football in 2025 and could be leaning toward retirement.
“I’m hearing he might not want to play,” Schefter explained. “Which, by the way, again, I don’t want to speak for him because I don’t want to get called out. We’re speculating, but it shouldn’t be that hard. Either you want to play for the Steelers, or you don’t. Like, what are we waiting for? I don’t see too many players who visit a team for six hours, think about something, and what’s the question?”
This statement came one day after Russell Wilson had officially inked a one-year deal with the New York Giants. Wilson joined Jameis Winston in a re-tooled Giants quarterback room.
With New York filling signing a pair of quarterbacks and the Minnesota Vikings removing their name from the Rodgers sweepstakes, the Steelers looked like the clear favorite to land the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Now, the biggest competition is Aaron Rodgers himself.
A potential Aaron Rodgers retirement would end the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 season before it begins
The Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on the crop of talent at quarterback since the beginning of the offseason. Omar Khan and the front office stood pat as Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round pick, and they chose not to throw their hat in the ring for Sam Darnold.
Meanwhile, this franchise burned bridges with Justin Fields (thank you, Mike Tomlin), leaving Rodgers as the only viable remaining option.
But if Rodgers opts for retirement, the Steelers’ 2025 season could be over before it ever starts.
Right now, the Steelers have just two quarterbacks under contract: Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Ruduloph would be Pittsburgh’s starter if the season started today, but the long-time NFL backup was the Steelers’ third-string QB in 2023, and the team had no interest in bringing him back on a new deal last offseason.
Rudolph signed for backup money ($4 million per season), and the plan was never to move forward with him as the starting signal-caller in 2025. If Rodgers backs out on the Steelers now, this team is out of luck. Though Rodgers is a shade of the player he once was, the four-time MVP likely could have offered enough to aid this team to an 11-6 season and a playoff berth, maybe even snapping their winless postseason drought.
However, if Rodgers opts to retire, Rudolph becomes a better option than the scraps left on the free-agent market. This means the Steelers could be looking at an 8-9 or 9-8 season that inches one year closer to a decade-long drought without a playoff win.
Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers holds all of the leverage. He knows how desperately the Pittsburgh Steelers need a quarterback. He’s either going to play on his own terms or not at all. And if the answer is retirement, this team is already screwed for the 2025 season.
