Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 42, to reflect on future after season

PITTSBURGH — With a win-or-go-home regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t focused on his future beyond Week 18.

Although he said Wednesday that he hasn’t “thought” about returning to Pittsburgh next season after his one-year contract expires, Rodgers acknowledged the reality he will face at the end of the season.

“I’m thinking about this week, but obviously I’m 42 and I’m on a one-year contract,” he said. “So you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. That’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. I mean, not a lot of options, but there will be options, I think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.

“I’ve enjoyed this experience and everyone in Pittsburgh has been fantastic to me on and off the field. And that’s really what I was hoping for from this experience, it was even better than I expected.”

After signing a one-year, $13.65 million contract with Pittsburgh in June, Rodgers told the “Pat McAfee Show” in an interview that he was “pretty sure” the 2025 season would be his last.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s it,” Rodgers said in June. “That’s why we just did a one-year deal. The Steelers didn’t need to put extra years into it or anything, so it was really about finishing with a lot of love and fun and peace the career that I had.

“I’ve played 20 fucking years. It’s been a long run. I’ve enjoyed it, and there’s no better place to finish than at one of the flagship franchises in the NFL with Mike Tomlin and a great group of management and great guys in the city who expect you to win.”

Six months after that interview, Rodgers congratulated Tomlin and expressed gratitude for the experience in Pittsburgh.

“You’re always thinking about what-ifs and alternative timelines in your life,” Rodgers said. “But if I hadn’t gone down that path, I would never have met so many of the guys in the dressing room that I now call close friends and I wouldn’t have had the experiences and the memories on the pitch, I wouldn’t have been able to be in the room with Tom Arth and Bake again. [Matt Baker] and being able to play for Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin. And I feel like there would be a little hole missing in my life without this chapter. So I’m grateful for this time.”

The quarterback said he would speak with his wife to decide his next steps, but he kept his process vague. Rodgers, who recently said he feels like “Benjamin Button,” added that he hopes his decision can be driven by a desire to continue playing rather than the physical ability to stay on the field.

“I hope I can get through this period and feel good physically, so that’s not in the conversation,” he said.

Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Rodgers has helped the Steelers to a 9-7 record and kept them in contention for the AFC North title. He totaled 3,028 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions and completed 65.6 percent of his attempts.

“Sometimes, yes, definitely,” Rodgers said when asked if he played the kind of ball he wanted to play this season. “Any time you’re in a freshman offense, there’s always growing pains within the offense. It’s always like you feel like if you had another year, what you could do.

“…We did the best we could with our conversations and our meeting time outside of the facility and our meeting time in the facility. But obviously the more years you spend in the system with the same guys, the more continuity you have, the better you feel you can play.”

The Steelers are partly in this survival situation against Baltimore due to Rodgers’ lackluster performance playing without wide receiver DK Metcalf against Cleveland in Week 17. Rodgers completed just 53.8% of his attempts and threw for 168 yards. Rodgers has completed 55% or fewer attempts three other times this season and has bounced back with improved performances each time.

“I haven’t had a lot of back-to-back stinkers over the years,” Rodgers said. “So it’s the same mindset every week, the same approach. Just expect greatness. And when it doesn’t happen, you don’t change the plan. You just keep going and trust the process.”