The Pittsburgh Steelers have asked quarterback Aaron Rodgers to provide a decision on his 2026 plans by the start of the team’s organized team activities on May 18, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as the protracted offseason standoff between the veteran quarterback and the franchise enters its latest phase.
According to Dulac, the Steelers initially expected Rodgers to make a decision by the NFL Scouting Combine in February, then set a new informal deadline of the NFL Draft when the combine came and went without resolution. Once again, Rodgers kept quiet through April’s draft, prompting the team to set the OTA date as its next marker.
Rodgers offered an update on “The Pat McAfee Show,” saying the Steelers had not made him a formal contract offer and reiterating that he remains a free agent. “There’s been no deadline that’s been put in front of me,” Rodgers said. “There’s no contract offer or anything. So there’s nothing that I’m having to debate between. I’m a free agent, and I’m enjoying my time with my wife and this part of the offseason. I think there are conversations to be had down the line, but right now, there haven’t been any progressive conversations.”
Despite the absence of a formal offer, the organizational structure around Rodgers strongly favors a Pittsburgh return. Pittsburgh placed an unrestricted free agent tender on Rodgers, a rarely used mechanism that pays him 110 percent of his 2025 salary in 2026 and grants the Steelers free agent compensation in the form of a 2027 draft pick if he signs elsewhere. The tender also sets up a situation in which Rodgers is virtually guaranteed to play in Pittsburgh or retire, as another club would risk losing a high-value compensatory pick by signing him.
Pittsburgh did not pursue any veteran quarterbacks in free agency this offseason and only added Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, alongside 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and veteran Mason Rudolph. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio publicly called on all parties to bring the situation to a conclusion. “If he truly doesn’t know, it’s time to figure it out, and if you do know, it’s time to let everyone else know,” Florio said.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw cold water on reporting that Rodgers had been seriously considering a move to the Arizona Cardinals. Schefter said on ESPN, “I don’t think he is holding out, waiting for a better opportunity. I just think he has not been ready.”
Rodgers’ delay appears unrelated to financial compensation, according to Dulac of the Post-Gazette. Rodgers, 42, is a free agent after spending the 2025 season in Pittsburgh on a one-year deal. He played well enough to help the Steelers win 10 games and capture their first division title since 2020, even though he played the final six games with multiple fractures in his left wrist.
The new head coach adds an element of familiarity that many believe will ultimately bring Rodgers back to Pittsburgh. The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, Rodgers’ longtime coach in Green Bay. McCarthy and Rodgers spent 13 seasons together, including 11 with Rodgers as the starter, a partnership that included a Super Bowl win, a 15-1 season, and three NFC Championship Game appearances. The Steelers’ mandatory veteran minicamp is scheduled for June 2–4, representing the next significant inflection point in the ongoing saga if the May 18 OTA date passes without resolution.
