Aaron Rodgers is off to the Steel City at long last.
The four-time NFL Most Valuable Player has signed a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers that includes $10 million guaranteed and can be worth up to $19.5 million after incentives, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Saturday.
Rapoport, Pelissero and NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo had previously reported Thursday that the QB informed the Steelers he would fly to Pittsburgh to sign a deal before minicamp kicks off next week. The team later announced it had agreed to terms with Rodgers, pending a physical that Rapoport reported he's now passed.
During an age in which many big-name free agents choose new teams a day or two before free agency even officially begins, Rodgers, always his own person, waited until well after the 2025 NFL Draft to digest and sort out his next move. Pittsburgh coincidentally did little in the draft to make the marriage less likely, waiting until Day 3 to select a quarterback (Will Howard; No. 185 overall).
That left the Steelers staring at a QB room composed of Howard, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, with one of the NFL's most obvious needs for a difference-making signal-caller.
Especially following the signing of Russell Wilson by the New York Giants -- another Rodgers suitor -- and several teams finding QBs through the draft, Pittsburgh inking the 41-year-old became the expected result for both parties, barring a Rodgers retirement.
Rodgers is coming off a season that dinged his reputation as a top-tier quarterback, as he struggled to make the difference so many expected for the New York Jets during a 5-12 campaign that included his head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas being fired midseason.
But Pittsburgh is nonetheless happy to land a future Pro Football Hall of Famer with 62,952 passing yards and 503 touchdowns under his belt. Adding another level of intrigue to the signing is that the Steelers play at the Jets to open the regular season on Sept. 7 and also host the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 26 on Sunday Night Football.
Rodgers’ perceived downswing during the 2024 season at least partly stems from just how prolific he’s been in stacking stats throughout his 20-year NFL career.
He wasn’t as deadly accurate for New York as he’s been, nor was he as nimble coming off a torn Achilles, but he still completed 63% of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2024. His numbers look even better when considering his final 10 games last season: 2,234 yards, 18 TDs and four INTs with a 64 completion percentage.
Rodgers, essentially swapping places with Justin Fields after the mobile QB agreed to go from the Black and Gold to Gang Green, will be working with a pass-catching group somewhat in flux.
The Steelers traded for Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, who through six seasons has never fallen under 900 receiving yards and three times eclipsed 1,000. Pittsburgh also returns the team’s leading pass catcher from 2024, tight end Pat Freiermuth. Beyond that, though, the receiving corps is relatively thin following the trade of George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Calvin Austin III, veteran free-agent addition Robert Woods and 2024 third-rounder Roman Wilson will likely vie for the No. 2 WR role, assuming there's not be another spring FA add like Rodgers.
Pittsburgh nonetheless remains an ideal location for Rodgers to find redemption after the New York debacle. The Steelers consistently field a stellar defense and know how to accumulate wins, as evidenced by their last sub-.500 season taking place a couple years before Rodgers entered the league two full decades ago.
It will be intriguing to watch the relationship between Rodgers and head coach Mike Tomlin -- a player seemingly never shy to enact his influence and a head coach who commands the room -- but combining a championship quarterback with a championship coach is never a bad recipe to try.
Fourteen years ago, Rodgers took down Tomlin and the Steelers to win a Super Bowl.
He now joins them after a long and winding road in hopes of capturing a second.