The Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting on Aaron Rodgers, but they insist the clock will hit zero before the NFL Draft takes over downtown later this spring. Owner and team president Art Rooney II told reporters he still expects the veteran quarterback to let the team know whether he is returning ahead of the draft, which comes to Pittsburgh in late April. Rodgers, for his part, has said in interviews that the Steelers have not given him a hard deadline and that he is taking his time.
That rough timeline was reported by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Gerry Dulac and summarized by CBS Pittsburgh, which quoted Rooney saying, "I expect we'll get an answer before the draft." Rooney added that when he and other team leaders spoke with Rodgers this offseason, the quarterback told them he "wasn't going to take as long this year as he did last year."
Rodgers Says There Is No Set Deadline
Rodgers told The Pat McAfee Show that "there's been no deadline that's been put in front of me" and that no contract offer is currently on the table, according to NFL.com. He also had plenty of praise for new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy, calling him "one of the great guys in the league" and "an exceptional human being with a huge heart," per NBC Sports.
Numbers And The Playoff Finish
In his lone Steelers season, Rodgers put up 3,322 passing yards with a 24-to-7 touchdown-to-interception line, per StatMuse. The year ended with a thud: a 30-6 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, as recapped by ESPN, a result that has loomed over Pittsburgh's offseason planning.
Why The Timing Matters For The Draft
The stakes around the decision are higher than usual because the 2026 NFL Draft will be held in Pittsburgh from April 23 to 25, and the Steelers want clarity heading into their own hometown showcase, per the team's announcement on Steelers.com. Local officials expect big crowds and major traffic disruptions, with transit and street-closure plans already in the works, according to Axios.
Rooney and general manager Omar Khan have pushed for a quicker resolution than last year, and the pressure point is obvious: free agency, pre-draft visits, and the first round all line up with Rodgers' pending call. For now, Pittsburgh is preparing for either outcome, whether that means Rodgers' return or a pivot to drafting or signing a different starter before the draft opens on April 23.
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