Super Bowl champion shares bold prediction for Aaron Rodgers farewell tour as Steelers spring massive OTAs surprise
Aaron Rodgers will no doubt dominate headlines in 2026, as he embarks on a farewell tour.
The veteran quarterback, 42, will play one final NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before calling it quits.
Whatever happens this year, he will retire a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
But Rodgers is the kind of man who wants to go out on top, and wouldn’t have returned if he didn’t think he had one final shot at Super Bowl glory.
He’ll reunite with Mike McCarthy, the head coach who he lifted the Lombardi Trophy alongside while with the Green Bay Packers, as he bids for a second title.
The HC-QB duo could be exactly what Pittsburgh needs to put together a postseason run that has been missing for almost a decade.
Joe Theismann, a fellow NFL icon, believes big things are coming for the Steelers in 2026 because they’ve fixed one big problem for Rodgers.
Super Bowl champion makes bold prediction for Aaron Rodgers retirement tour
“I really had no doubt that he would be back with Mike McCarthy there as the head coach. Aaron doesn’t have to learn a new system,” the Super Bowl XVII winner said, speaking to Peter Schwartz on the Schwartz on Sports podcast.
“He basically is a coach on the field. He’s going to help everybody else in this particular system that they’re going to run.
“The thing that the Steelers have to do is be able to protect him.
“You give Aaron a chance to be able to look at a defense, to get the ball out of his hands, he’s going to carve people up.
“Last year, he had to run for his life a lot. This year, I think they’ve really focused on trying to fix the offensive line.”
As Theismann suggests, for Rodgers to have success in his final season, he will need protection from his O-line.
The Steelers were solid in 2025 thanks to a typically-strong defense, and topped the AFC North with a dramatic Week 18 win over Baltimore Ravens.
But they fell short in the playoffs once more, losing to the Houston Texans in the Wild-Card round.
Pittsburgh is still without a postseason win since January 2017, and that nine-year drought is why Mike Tomlin ultimately decided to step away.
In 2026, the Steelers have a quarterback who will be hell-bent on one final run, and early signs suggest things will be shifted around to help him.
Pittsburgh shuffle O-line in attempt to protect Aaron Rodgers
Brooke Pryor of ESPN reported on May 30 that early signs from Organized Team Activities (OTAs) suggest that tackle Troy Fautanu and guard Mason McCormick will be moving positions.
“Through the first two weeks of OTAs, Fautanu and Mason McCormick, who played mostly at right guard in 2024 and 2025, have primarily worked on the left side during portions of practices open for media viewing,” Pryor wrote.
“One-time left tackle Dylan Cook and guard Spencer Anderson have been on the right.”
The reason, according to McCarthy, is to solidify the left side of the O-line early on, to protect and work with Rodgers, a right-handed QB.
“Obviously they’re gifted athletically, the way they’re wired, very smart players,” the Steelers HC said, discussing the shuffle.
“I just really wanted to get that left side set and those guys were excited about it, too.”
How are Steelers stars reacting to O-line changes?
Fautanu, meanwhile, isn’t yet sure if the switch is permanent.
“Right now it’s still kind of up in the air,” he said.
“First day of OTAs is just kind of getting out there. Obviously the past couple of weeks, been flipping back and forth, just trying to get comfortable. But obviously if they ask me to play that, I’m going to play.”
The move, though, frees Anderson up to return to his preferred side.
“I feel more comfortable at right. That’s my home. When I first met the staff, I was asked if I had to pick (a side), because you know you’re using a lot of the Y and jumbo stuff or whatever you want to call it,” the 25-year-old said.
“And I was like, well, I mean if I had a choice, I’d say right guard.”
While the move could pay dividends, Steelers O-line coach James Campen knows it will take some time for each player to get used to changes.
“It’s different,” he said.
“It takes time and you have to be adaptable and adjustable, and they are that.
“We use the term huge and all that. It doesn’t define everything, but (being at early offseason training) allows you to take other steps and to see how players can adapt to each other and to the system. So it’s big.”
The clock is ticking for Rodgers, and while 2026 won’t be all about him, the Steelers O-line is shaping up to protect him properly.
And if the veteran has enough time to ‘carve people up’ as Theismann suggests, that can only be good news for the whole Pittsburgh organization.
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