The NFL’s most exhausting will-he-won’t-he saga is set to be renewed for another offseason.
Four-time Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show that he has made no decisions about his playing future. While there have been initial talks with the Steelers about returning for the 2026 season, Rodgers said there’s been nothing that he would consider “progressive conversations.” Pittsburgh recently hired Mike McCarthy, who previously won a Super Bowl in Green Bay with Rodgers, as its new head coach.
“I’ve talked to Mike, I’ve talked to [GM] Omar [Khan],” the 42-year-old Rodgers said. “There’s been no deadline that’s been … put in front of me. There’s no contract offer or anything, so there’s nothing that I’m having to debate between.
“There’s conversations to be had down the line, but right now, there have not been any progressive conversations,” he said.
Last offseason, negotiations between the Steelers and Rodgers ran through much of the spring until the quarterback agreed to a one-year, $13.65 million agreement in June 2025—later supplemented with a $500,000 bonus for making the playoffs.
Once again, there are sizable salary-cap implications in the decision. The Steelers currently have $40.1 million in available cap space, the eighth-highest such figure in the league, according to OverTheCap.com. The team, however, also has several other pressing needs on the roster.
Further complicating the situation are a series of competitive and quality-of-life factors surrounding the franchise.
While Rodgers showed occasional flashes of brilliance on the field and the Steelers won the AFC North division title on the final night of the regular season, it wasn’t enough to break the team’s playoff winless streak that started in the 2016 season. That ultimately helped lead to the January departure of former head coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers currently have Mason Rudolph and Will Howard on their quarterback depth chart, but ultimately will need to name a starter, whether it’s one of them or somebody else.
Pittsburgh also finished last in the most recent iteration of the NFL Player Association’s report cards evaluating teams on a variety of factors. Already, the Steelers have said they intend to replace what is deemed by players to be the NFL’s worst field, and pressure will likely remain to improve in other areas.
Gridiron to Hardball?
Quarterback Kyler Murray, meanwhile, has decisions of his own to make after the Cardinals said they intend to release him before the new league year begins on March 11. The relatively thin market at the position around the league, and the fact that Arizona will cover nearly all of his salary this coming season, will likely give him plenty of options. Another team can sign him for the league veteran minimum of $1.3 million, while the Cardinals are still on the hook for $35.5 million in guaranteed money.
“I truly believe my best ball is in front of me, and I look forward to proving it,” the 28-year-old Murray said in a social-media post.
MLB’s A’s, however, have left the door open for Murray. The A’s drafted Murray with the No. 9 pick in the 2018 draft—ahead of other future stars such as the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh and Tigers’ Tarik Skubal—and still have his baseball rights. Murray played both college football and baseball at Oklahoma.
“Kyler is an elite NFL quarterback, and I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities for him to continue his football career,” A’s GM David Forst told MLB.com. “That said, he and his baseball representatives know that we’re always open to him exploring a return to baseball if that time ever comes.”
The climb for Murray to return to high-level competitive baseball would be steep. While there have been other two-sport stars such as Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders in the past, those players played in MLB at a younger age and much closer to their collegiate play. Murray, conversely, has not been in organized baseball since 2018.
