If you think Aaron Rodgers-to-Steelers rumors only started swirling in February 2025, you’ve missed the real prequel. Go back to October 2021. The Steelers were 1-3, Ben Roethlisberger looked like he was throwing in a snowstorm, and Pittsburgh fans were already daydreaming about No. 12. Not the one they had. The one in Green Bay. Rodgers was openly fond of the Steel City as he said he liked yinzers, Pittsburgh Dad, and even gave a nod to Primanti Bros. sandwiches.
At the time, Behind the Steel Curtain put it bluntly: “It’s a little too early for the Steelers and their fans to be flirting with Aaron Rodgers.” The argument? Big Ben deserved a proper sendoff. That ’21 article also warned—half-prophetically—that Rodgers might bring with him the same cliffside decline critics feared from Roethlisberger at 38. But fans didn’t care. That idea: Rodgers in black and gold. It has lived rent-free in Pittsburgh’s head ever since.
On Feb. 13, the Jets said they were moving forward without him. Head coach Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey thanked him and showed him the door. “I was kind of shocked. Not shocked because I didn’t think it was a possibility, but shocked because I just flew across the country and you could’ve told me this over the phone,” A-Rod revealed it in April on The Pat McAfee Show that Glenn only took 20 seconds to send him packing.
Three months later. Still no deal. Still no resolution. Rodgers and the Steelers have danced around commitment longer than a third-season Netflix couple. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, “Aaron Rodgers is Plan A.” But the plot twist? Kirk Cousins is very much Plan B. And maybe now, he’s Plan A.5. “If something were to fall through with Rodgers, certainly they could reconvene, call Atlanta, and see if they could shake something out,” Fowler added. Just a front office on edge and a city caught in QB purgatory.
NFL RUMORS: #Falcons Kirk Cousins still remains an option for the #Steelers #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/ofeUc4p4Jm
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) May 25, 2025
As for Kirk? The 13-year vet isn’t exactly a free agent, but he’s not exactly NOT one either. Atlanta made it clear they’re all-in on Michael Penix Jr., and Cousins doesn’t want to warm benches for $100 million. The Falcons are open to moving him. But want proper draft capital and for someone else to eat a big chunk of that guaranteed $45 million. For Pittsburgh, it’s about deciding if they want to bet big on a 36-year-old QB who still believes he has something left. Cousins does. Just maybe not in Atlanta.
The decision’s weight is clear. Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin aren’t rebuilding. They’re reloading. “Rodgers or Cousins could increase those chances,” Fowler said. But that’s not lip service. So here it is. Three and a half years after Pittsburgh first daydreamed about Aaron Rodgers, Mike Tomlin may be preparing to sign Kirk Cousins instead. Not because they’re settling. But because they’re tired of waiting.
Aaron Rodgers and his games might not help his cause
During Aaron Rodgers’ live QnA with rapper Mike Stud in Texas, a kid asked AR the most innocent question on Earth. “Will Aaron Rodgers ever go to the Bears?” His answer was obviously a “No!” But he didn’t leave it that as he continued: “But, I believe, there’s a team that might play in Chicago this year.”
That “team playing in Chicago”? Yeah, the Steelers are scheduled to face the Bears on Nov. 23. And if you’re connecting the dots, you’re not alone. Fans started pulling out string like it was a true crime board. Is Rodgers hinting at something real? Or just keeping himself on the front page like always?
Whatever it is, he’s tiptoeing on a fine line. Because Pittsburgh’s getting weary of playing relationship counselor in this will-they-won’t-they with Rodgers. Even team president Art Rooney II, when asked for the third time in a month about Rodgers, offered the same dry update: “We’ll wait a little while longer.”
Now, could Rodgers raise this team’s ceiling? Sure. If everything goes right—if he finds 2021 form, if the O-line matures fast, if the defense stops getting gashed like it did against Baltimore—this could be the year the playoff drought ends. But let’s be honest. This film is old. The one where an aging legend walks into town with a resume, but not the legs? It happened with Big Ben.
Then there’s the locker room risk. Bringing in Rodgers means bringing in… everything. The Pat McAfee appearances. The headlines. And the orbit. Don’t think T.J. Watt or Minkah Fitzpatrick wants to spend pressers talking about why Rodgers skipped OTAs. What message does that send to the guys actually showing up? Rudolph, Howard, even the rest of the roster, they’re putting in work. Then Rodgers strolls in, takes the job, and heads back to Malibu when he’s done? That won’t sit well.
Long story short: Rodgers would be a short-term spark. But that’s all. Pittsburgh isn’t a Super Bowl team today, even with Rodgers. At best, it’s a playoff win. At worst, it’s another rerun of last year’s collapse—with more drama.
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