Aaron Rodgers career so far (Image via Getty Images)
On the fourth play of his Jets debut in September 2023, he went down with a torn Achilles, and a lot of people assumed that was it. A gut-punch exit for a four-time MVP who’d given 18 years to Green Bay, then chased one more shot in a new city. Instead, Rodgers rehabbed, returned for a difficult 2024 in New York, moved on to Pittsburgh, helped the Steelers to a 10-6 record in 2025, and is now back for one final season. At 42, his parting statement isn’t a quiet goodbye. Zero,” he told reporters when asked if 2026 was truly it. Rodgers thought 2025 might be it. Then Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons, the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, and Rodgers had a conversation with his wife. So he signed a one-year deal worth up to $25 million and reported to his 22nd NFL training camp. Rodgers played under him for 13 seasons in Green Bay. Four-time NFL MVP, 22 seasons. He enters 2026 ranked in the top seven in most major quarterback categories. The Steelers and Packers are not on each other’s 2026 regular season schedule.
Only Peyton Manning has won more MVP awards.
She told him he could do one more year. “I spent 13 years in his offense,” Rodgers said. “Every day,” he said when asked if the significance of coaching Rodgers in his final season is lost on him.
Four snaps. That’s all Aaron Rodgers got in New York. At training camp in Latrobe, Aaron Rodgers shut down any lingering retirement ambiguity fast. “Zero debate. Coming from a man who spent the better part of a decade in quarterback limbo, first with the Packers, then the Jets, then Pittsburgh, that kind of certainty means something. The honest version of how he got here is pretty human. That’s the story. No grand declaration, just a man who wasn’t quite done and had enough reason to come back. The McCarthy factor is real. Their working relationship had enough friction to fill a book, but also enough shared success to make a reunion meaningful. “It’s stuff that we used to run. McCarthy, for his part, was open about what this moment means. It clearly isn’t. The Hall of Fame case is not in question. That part is settled. What this final year is really about is something harder to measure. Still, there’s a compelling subplot. The only place those two franchises could meet is the Super Bowl. That’s a long shot by anyone’s math, but it’s the kind of story the NFL seems to write sometimes.
He had surgery, attacked his rehab, and came back for 2024. The Jets finished 5-12 with Rodgers throwing 29 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. The new regime released him.
He was “shocked” at how the new brass handled his departure. He described it simply: “a lot of sadness, a lot of tears. Two years, one game’s worth of actual production, and a team no closer to relevance. That’s a brutal stretch for anyone, let alone a quarterback of Rodgers’ standing.