Aaron Rodgers is officially a Pittsburgh Steeler once again, and his teammates couldn't be happier.
Just ask new Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
"He made a couple of great throws," Pittman said Monday after Pittsburgh's first day of organized team activities, . "I was like wow, I'm really playing with Aaron."
As he's done seemingly annually, Rodgers took his time before returning to the Steelers for his 22nd NFL season, waiting until mid-May to sign his contract and report in time for OTAs. His arrival completed Pittsburgh's 2026 plan under center, which included the addition of rookie third-round pick Drew Allar, but always kept a seat warm for the 42-year-old Rodgers.
The veteran represents the Steelers' best remaining option under center in an offseason in which they could have pursued Malik Willis or Kyler Murray, but ultimately settled on the idea of running it back with the veteran who led them to a Wild Card Round appearance in 2025. With Rodgers penciled in and new coach Mike McCarthy confident in their potential as reunited partners, Steelers general manager Omar Khan went to work on the remaining supporting cast, acquiring Pittman via trade with the Colts before selecting Alabama receiver Germie Bernard in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Khan added to the protection unit, too, spending a first-round pick on Arizona State tackle Max Iheanachor, giving the Steelers another option in a position group that already included ascending tackle Troy Fautanu and 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones.
"It's awesome. I was excited and happy to see him back," Fautanu said of Rodgers' return. "Obviously, to have our leader back from last year and kind of having a year with him and kind of learning from him, we kind of picked up where we left off. It felt like he never really left with him being back in the huddle. Will (Howard), Mason (Rudolph) and Drew have done a good job the past couple of weeks just making sure we are all on the same page. But like I said, it's nice to have 'A' back."
Rodgers' inclusion signals the Steelers believe they have a roster capable of contending, provided they receive competent production from the quarterback. That's largely what Rodgers gave them in 2025, completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards and a 24-7 TD-INT ratio. While he was limited in the full scope of what he was able to accomplish at 41 years old -- there was a reason he owned the shortest time to throw (2.59 seconds, per Next Gen Stats) among all QBs with at least 200 dropbacks -- he was still able to execute consistently enough to help the Steelers win 10 games.
With Rodgers on board and plenty of faith in their defense, the Steelers will carry plenty of optimism into 2026 -- a sentiment that became evident when Rodgers resurfaced Monday.
"It's definitely awesome to have him back," linebacker Payton Wilson said. "It's a lot harder on us in 7-on-7 things. He's a great teammate and obviously the guys on the offensive side of the ball are super stoked to have him back. It's just good to have another veteran leader back in the locker room."
Edge rusher Alex Highsmith shared similar excitement while touching on Rodgers' personality: "It's awesome having him back. He's a mysterious guy. ... That's just who he is, I think. He's mysterious, but he's one heck of a teammate. ... He's a great dude."
