Rodgers' future still unclear

The Steelers opened their voluntary minicamp this week without an answer from Aaron Rodgers on whether he will play in 2026. (sports.yahoo.com) Yahoo Sports reported April 20 that Pittsburgh did not expect a decision before the National Football League draft, which begins Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh. Rodgers is 42, and the team began its three-day minicamp on Monday, April 20, without him. (sports.yahoo.com) General manager Omar Khan said at the NFL scouting combine on Feb. 24 that “the door is open” for Rodgers to return and that he did not expect the wait to last as long as it did in 2025. This week, ESPN reported Khan and coach Mike McCarthy said there is now no deadline or timeline for Rodgers to decide. (steelers.com) (espn.com) That shift followed a more public timetable from team president Art Rooney II, who said at the annual meeting in late March that he expected a decision before the draft. NFL.com and ESPN both carried Rooney’s comments at the time. (nfl.com) (espn.com) Sports Illustrated, citing Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, reported Rodgers is irritated by the Steelers publicly discussing his timeline. The report described that irritation as one reason the process has grown more strained in April. (si.com) McCarthy said this week the team has to keep working with the quarterbacks already on the roster, and ESPN reported he and Khan have stressed that offseason teaching cannot stop while they wait. Steelers.com said McCarthy has remained in contact with Rodgers and described those conversations earlier this month as positive. (espn.com) (steelers.com) The uncertainty matters because Pittsburgh is still trying to settle its post-Ben Roethlisberger quarterback picture. ESPN wrote in February that the Steelers were again entering an offseason with no long-term answer at the position, even after Rodgers started for them in 2025. (espn.com) Rodgers signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh in June 2025 after a long wait, with NFL.com reporting the contract was worth $13.65 million and included $10 million guaranteed. That timing is part of why this spring has felt familiar inside and outside the building. (nfl.com) For now, the Steelers are heading into draft weekend with the same basic reality they had at the start of minicamp: Rodgers has not committed, the team says it will keep moving, and the quarterback question is still open. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com)