Adam Schefter reveals how Aaron Rodgers return to Steelers came together

After months and months of questions, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially brought back Aaron Rodgers on a new one-year contract worth up to $25 million for the 2026 season.

While there were rumblings about other teams potentially giving the former MVP a call heading into the fall, with the Arizona Cardinals emerging as a dark-horse candidate in the opinions of some, in an appearance on NFL Live, Adam Schefter reveals how the Steelers’ situation came together and when they knew Rodgers was going to be their guy in 2026.

“This was always the day that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers had circled on their calendar because it was the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers OTAs today. And so ideally Pittsburgh said to Aaron Rodgers take as much time as you want go through whatever process you need to but please give us a decision by Monday May 18th when the OTAs begin and I think that it went up to this weekend before they officially and finally knew that Aaron Rodgers did in fact want to play they put together a one-year deal worth up to $25 million,” Schefter said.

“That was the easy part, but they had to make sure that Rodgers was fully committed, which he certainly sounds like he is. He was back in Pittsburgh about 10 days ago. You don’t go back to Pittsburgh unless you’re intending to sign, and now he’s back for another season that a lot of people thought we wouldn’t see. They thought that this could be his last year this past season. It didn’t turn out to be that way. And that means that Will Howard, Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar now go back down a notch on the Steelers depth chart as the Pittsburgh Steelers get the quarterback that they wanted to lead them forward.”

While the idea of watching Rudolph, Allar, and Howard duke it out over the summer presented a fascinating test case of NFL development for hardcore fans of the draft, the Steelers are absolutely a better team with Rodgers under center, regardless of who ends up winning the No. 2 spot. With a year to develop backup arms like Allar, Howard, and beyond, who knows, maybe the Steelers will get to have their cake and eat it too long-term.

"The Pittsburgh Steelers get the quarterback that they wanted to lead them forward."@AdamSchefter on how the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers came to an agreement to return for the 2026 season pic.twitter.com/NWvIq9tLNB

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 18, 2026

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