PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers continue waiting for Aaron Rodgers to make up his mind about playing another season, but the organization appears content to let their veteran quarterback take his time deciding on a potential 22nd NFL campaign in 2026.
General manager Omar Khan told reporters Monday that Pittsburgh maintains ongoing dialogue with the four-time Most Valuable Player, who successfully led the franchise to an AFC North championship last season.
“Nothing’s changed,” Khan said. “It’s all been positive and good. He knows how we feel about him and we know how he feels about us.”
Despite the positive communication, Rodgers hasn’t provided a concrete decision, and one isn’t expected before Thursday when the NFL draft begins in Pittsburgh. The 42-year-old signal-caller delayed his commitment last year until just before mandatory minicamp started in June. However, Rodgers’ undecided status won’t influence Pittsburgh’s approach to their dozen draft selections, which kick off with the 21st overall choice.
“That doesn’t change our evaluation process,” Khan said. “We’re still putting the guys up where they need to be and we’ll just see how it shakes out.”
This year’s draft class at quarterback appears significantly weaker than initially projected, with Indiana’s Heisman Trophy recipient Fernando Mendoza expected to go first overall to Las Vegas as the only reliable prospect.
Pittsburgh’s current quarterback depth chart includes only two players under contract: sixth-round selection Will Howard from last year, whose debut season was derailed by an early training camp hand injury, and veteran backup Mason Rudolph.
The Steelers will likely address quarterback depth during the draft. They’ve hosted pre-draft visits with Penn State’s Drew Allar, Miami’s Carson Beck, and North Dakota State’s Cole Payton, though all three are projected as later-round selections.
New head coach Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native who replaced Mike Tomlin in January, brings extensive experience developing quarterbacks. His resume includes working with Rodgers, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, and former top overall pick Alex Smith during McCarthy’s 2005 stint in San Francisco.
“We speak on it as being the most important position in football,” McCarthy said. “And I think it’s important to always try to add to it if you can (but) it has to fit.”
Beyond quarterback, Pittsburgh faces several roster needs, including finding a versatile receiver to complement established veterans DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. The team also requires help at offensive tackle, where uncertainty surrounds left tackle Broderick Jones, their 2023 first-round pick who missed the final seven games of 2025 due to a neck injury.
Jones remains without a recovery timeline, though he participated with teammates Monday as part of the “medical group” during informal team workouts.
Khan described Jones as “early in the process” of recovery, and the injury makes Pittsburgh likely to decline his fifth-year option for 2027. This situation could push the team toward finding a long-term solution to protect whoever becomes their franchise quarterback, a search that began after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement in early 2022.
With twelve draft picks available, Khan has flexibility to package selections for potential trades up the board, or alternatively move down early to gather additional draft capital.
McCarthy expressed satisfaction with either approach. While describing the current roster as a “nice mix” of veteran and young talent, he emphasized the value of adding quality depth.
“Being above 10 (picks) I think would be awesome personally,” McCarthy said. “I’ve always felt that the more players you have to develop, I think it definitely is, for the long term, a good process.”
