Justin Fields tipped for Steelers reunion as Aaron Rodgers runs out of options

NFL free agency is in full swing and most of the quarterbacks who started in Week 1 of the 2025 season, and who were on the market, have found their homes for next season.

But Aaron Rodgers still remains on the board, while the New York Jets are expected to release Justin Fields, making both of their futures in the NFL very much uncertain at this time.

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When assessing their potential landing spots, one team fits the bill for both signal callers – the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Future Hall of Famer Rodgers spent the 2025 season under center in the Steel City, where he completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.

The Steelers won the AFC North title for the first time since the 2020 season, but ultimately fell to the Houston Texans in a 30-6 blowout defeat in the Wild Card Round.

Many expected that to be the 42-year-old’s final season in the NFL as retirement speculation continued to mount, and only grew further when long-time head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down from his responsibilities after almost two decades.

But the Steelers opted to appoint Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy as only their fourth head coach in franchise history, with the pair having won a Super Bowl during their time together.

Steelers could turn to old flame Fields

With Rodgers not having confirmed whether he wants to return to the league for his 22nd year, the Steelers may be forced into looking at the free agent market to bring in a veteran quarterback to aid prospect Will Howard’s development.

They could even opt to reunite with Fields, who spent the 2024 campaign donning the Black and Yellow.

“Given how last season went, it’s easy to forget that Fields played well for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 before Russell Wilson got healthy and assumed the starting role,” Bleacher Report’s Andrew Peters wrote.

“Pittsburgh is still waiting on a decision from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but even if the veteran returns, it will likely be a one-year deal that will end with him retiring.

“Fields could serve as a solid backup and potentially earn the starting role in 2027.”

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Fields, a former first-round NFL draft pick, suited up just 10 times for the Steelers, in which he tallied a career-high 65.8 pass completion percentage for five touchdowns to one interception.

While he played well, he was benched for Super Bowl-winner Wilson, who joined Fields in departing from the team during the 2025 off-season, and making way for Rodgers’ arrival.

Options for Rodgers are running out

Just one year on and the Steelers are still no closer to having stability at the quarterback position.

Top free agent QB Malik Willis signed with the Miami Dolphins. The Atlanta Falcons landed the outgoing Tua Tagovailoa, and the Indianapolis Colts re-signed Daniel Jones.

Fields’ former team the Jets reunited with Geno Smith in a move which has taken a decade to come full circle.

The Minnesota Vikings have just given J.J. McCarthy some competition for the starting role next season with the addition of Kyler Murray, and the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to use the No. 1 overall pick to draft 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

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At the end of the regular season Rodgers claimed: “Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent.

“So that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. [Not] a lot of options, but there’ll be options I would think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.”

Fast-forward to now and with positions filling up all over the NFL, there are really only two options on the table for Rodgers – to return to the Steelers and reunite with McCarthy or to go to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals are expected to enter the 2026 campaign with veteran Jacoby Brissett under center and Gardner Minshew II as backup, though his health for the start of the season is to be determined after tearing his ACL at the back end of last season.

Rodgers’ – who has over $394 million in career earnings – market may therefore not be as robust as he perhaps felt it would be before the new league year began.

While it remains to be seen whether Rodgers will play football in 2026, or choose to retire, the option to have a career in the media, though, appears to be firmly off the table.

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