The “wait” is over. Aaron Rodgers will return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2026 season. The 21-year NFL veteran and 4-time league MVP is in Pittsburgh and is expected to sign a one-year deal with a base salary in the neighborhood of 22 million dollars.

• Steelers OTAs begin this week and he is expected to participate.

The move has been expected since shortly after Mike McCarthy was hired to replace Mike Tomlin, although the sound and fury generated on social media could have led you to conclude otherwise.

Now that Rodgers is under contract, its time for some straight talk on the situation, taking a look at the good, bad and the ugly behind his return.

Aaron Rodgers Runs it In. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, Steelers.com

The Good: Rodgers Steelers Best QB Since Roethlisberger

The Aaron Rodgers we saw suit up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025 certainly wasn’t the same man that beat them in Super Bowl XLV.

But you know what?

That 41-year old Aaron Rodgers provided the best quarterbacking the Pittsburgh Steelers have seen since Ben Roethlisberger during the 2018 season.

Doubt that? Then take yourselves through “The Tale of Two Decembers in Pittsburgh.”

The Steelers had created a strong tailwind for themselves entering December 2024. They ended up losing 4 straight games to the Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs and Bengals before getting Ridiculed by the Ravens in the playoffs.

In contrast, the Steelers entered December 2025 fighting a terrible a headwind they created for themselves in October and November.

They won 4 games out of 5, beating the Baltimore Ravens twice, snuffing out the the Miami Dolphins’ mini late-season surge, and beating the Detroit Lions on the road.

Calvin Austin catches the go ahead touchdown. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.come

The difference? Aaron Rodgers succeeded in 2025 in doing what Russell Wilson tried and failed to do in 2024 – he elevated his play and lifted the entire team.

The Bad: Steelers STILL Lack Long Term QB

Of course there’s also the reality that Aaron Rodgers was just as unsuccessful, and arguably worse, than Russell Wilson was in the playoffs for the Steelers. And there’s no sugar coating one simple  reality: Aaron Rodgers struggled against elite defenses in 2025.

Worse yet, one of the main sources of his struggles was his lack of mobility, and anyone over 40 can assure you that this kind of thing does not get better with age.

Khalil Mack sacks Aaron Rodgers for a safety. Photo Credit: IMAGN Images, via Tribune-Review

By bringing Aaron Rodgers back, the Steelers have secured a signal caller who, if he remains healthy can keep them competitive and win them games. But can he really take them on a serious playoff run, let alone a Super Bowl run?

The smart money says no.

And that means the Steelers will likely start off the 2027 off season the way they have for the last decade – lacking both a long-term answer at quarterback and the means to secure one.

The Ugly: Click Baiters Content Stream Cut Off

The “ugly” of Aaron Rodgers signing now at the beginning of OTAs as opposed to say, before minicamp in June is that it deprives a legion of commentators, bloggers and social media “experts” of what has been a primary source of content and clicks this off season.

Since February at least, hardly a day has passed without some “Insider” assuring us that the Steelers “Are Losing Patience,” or a headline screaming “Rodgers Seen Wearing Jets Gear,” or “Steelers Legend Declares ‘Enough is Enough,’ Calls on Franchise to Issue Rodgers an Ultimatum” or “Washington Federals Emerge as Yet Another Potential Rodgers suitor….”

• That doesn’t mean that their arguments are wrong or that their critiques lack merit.

But most if not all of these these “insiders” or “experts” and/or “Steelers legends” based their claims on speculation, rather than sources.

Yet, each claim got magnified and amplified on social media ad nauseam. With each sunrise, the cycle renewed itself.

• Alas, now they’ll be forced to find something else to fret about.

For them, that’s ugly. For those who aren’t fans of clickbait, its kinda pretty.

Straight Talk on Aaron Rodgers’ Return to the Steelers

Fact: The Steelers lack a long-term answer at quarterback, and Aaron Rodgers return does nothing to change that.
Fact: Aaron Rodgers was the best option the Steelers had to start at quarterback in 2026.
Opinion: Trying to win with Rodgers is better than playing for draft position

It is possible, as The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo suggests, that instead of serving as a “bridge quarterback”  Aaron Rodgers could end up being a road block to finding the next long term signal caller.

Fair enough. But Art Rooney II is right on the money when he commits to trying to compete each year. The idea of “ripping off the Band Aid” facilitating a “bottoming out” looks good on paper. And is probably a viable strategy Fantasy Football owers use reguarly.

• But how effectively have Cleveland Browns used that strategy since 1999?

It is true that the Steelers 6-10 2003 season opened the door to Pittsburgh’s second Super Bowl era by allowing them to draft Ben Roethlisberger.

But the franchise didn’t go into 2003 planning to tank. The 2002 Steelers were a bogus roughing the kicker penalty away from playing in the AFC Championship.

Dan Rooney was on record saying he expected the 2003 team to contend for a title.

• Contend for a title they did in 2004.

There are a lot of reasons for that: Roethlisberger’s arrival, Dick LeBeau’s return, better injury luck, Ken Whisenhunt re-establishing the run, etc….

Chad Williams sacks Ben Roethlisberger in his first NFL game. Photo Credit: Nick Wass, Getty Images, via SteelersWire.

But what allowed Bill Cowher and the 2004 Steelers to bring those elements together was the commitment to winning forged as the ’03 Steelers fought for every blade of grass, right through to final gun in overtime in their season-ending loss to the Ravens.

• Playing to win pays long-term dividends. Period.

And that’s why Rooney, Khan and McCarthy are right to bring back Rodgers in 2026.

Aaron Rodgers, welcome back to Pittsburgh.

Follow @SteelCurtainRis