Dec 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks on after the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Gone With Playoff Loss?

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Noah Strackbein | Last updated Jan 12, 2026 1:00 PM ET

Is Aaron Rodgers' career over with a Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans? The 42-year-old quarterback isn't ready to talk about it, but everyone else is, and the latest report leaves the door open for an exciting offseason.

"You know, obviously I'll talk to my wife, and then hopefully that's a decision down the line, but I'm not really going to talk about right now," Rodgers said before the team's Week 18 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

The Steelers are now set to take on the Houston Texans. Rodgers' future has likely faded even further into the background. Pittsburgh wants him back, and there's a chance he's ready to embrace that.

Speaking on NFL GameDay, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport peeled back the curtain about where Rodgers and the Steelers stand.

"You saw that embrace between Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin. That is real. Both of them have enjoyed the other this season," Rapoport said. "It's gone so well in Pittsburgh, he's showed enough offensively, he's enjoyed his time in the locker room, that he is now open to returning for another season.

"Both sides, it seems, would be open to a reunion."

From @NFLGameDay Morning: #Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers appears open to returning... and he's been playing like it. pic.twitter.com/RpthxluACe
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2026

Does Game Against Texans Decide Rodgers' Future?

The answer to this question appears to be "no." Rodgers and the Steelers haven't had the most success this season, but they won the AFC North, are hosting a playoff game, and had moments where everything clicked throughout their run.

Now, there needs to be context included in this answer. If the Steelers lose in embarrassing fashion, the entire team is under question. No one is "safe," and Pittsburgh will likely consider all avenues to try and improve next year.

A win and Rodgers likely returns, unless he sails off into the sunset with a Super Bowl ring.

If it's close, maybe Rodgers listens to himself about a second season in the same system.

"Anytime you're in a first-year offense, there's always some growing pains within the offense," Rodgers said. "It's always you feel like if you had another year, you know what you could do. I look at the way I played in 2019 and then kind of the adjustments we made in the off season, and then the way I played in 2020, which was just in a whole kind of different level. I felt like, and I used to tease LaFleur about this all the time, I was a game manager in 2019 and a game impactor in 2020 and 2021. I think a lot of that's just familiarity with the offense and with the guys. We've done the best we could with our conversations and our meeting time outside the facility and our meeting time in the facility. But obviously, the more years you get in asystem with the same guys, the more continuity you have, the better you feel like you can play."

One thing seems certain, this dance isn't over no matter the outcome of the Steelers' Wild Card game. Rodgers returning is on the table, for both sides.

The conversation will only grow no matter what happens against the Texans.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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