The Steelers still have not heard from Aaron Rodgers on whether he will return, and there is no expectation of a final answer before the 2026 NFL Draft begins Thursday. That leaves Pittsburgh in the same holding pattern it has been in for weeks, with one quarterback spot kept open for Rodgers and another possible addition looming during the draft's three-day run.
NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported the update Monday, saying the Steelers do not expect Rodgers to decide before the draft opens. The timing matters because the three-day draft window is the club's best chance to add another quarterback if Rodgers stays away, especially with Will Howard and Mason Rudolph already on the roster and a reserve spot being preserved for the veteran.
That is a sharp shift from late March, when owner Art Rooney II said he expected an answer from Rodgers "by the draft." Instead, the team arrives at Thursday still waiting, even after Rodgers helped the steelers reach the postseason in 2025 and after the club hired Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy as head coach.
The delay leaves Howard in a strange place. The 2025 Day 3 pick, taken No. 185 overall, did not see any regular-season action as a rookie, and Pittsburgh has treated him as a possible fallback if Rodgers does not come back. If the wait stretches through the draft, the steelers may have to use one of their picks on another developmental quarterback prospect rather than count on Rodgers to settle the plan.
Pittsburgh has lived through this before. The team spent months waiting on Rodgers around the same time a year ago before finally locking into a season-long partnership, and this spring has started to look uncomfortably familiar. With the draft set to open Thursday in Pittsburgh, the clearest next step may not be a Rodgers announcement at all, but whether the steelers decide they can afford to leave the position this thin any longer.
