The Pittsburgh Steelers have their head coach in Mike McCarthy. They\u2019re hard at work assembling the coaching staff under McCarthy. The next big question for the Steelers is who will be the starting quarterback in 2026? Will QB Aaron Rodgers be back, especially since he could reunite with his former head coach from the Green Bay Packers?<\/p>\n
McCarthy said he\u2019s spoken to Rodgers multiple times when he was a guest on Friday\u2019s episode of the Pat McAfee Show<\/a>. However, McCarthy wouldn\u2019t say much more than that. So, will Rodgers be back in Pittsburgh for the 2026 season?<\/p>\n \u201cI think he will be their starting quarterback, unless he comes to some kind of decision over the next month that he\u2019s just done with football 100 percent,\u201d beat writer Mark Kaboly said Friday on The PM Team<\/a>. \u201cThis is him basically saying he\u2019s coming back without him admitting he\u2019s coming back. What I\u2019ve heard a lot is they\u2019re expecting him to come back\u2026 They are under the impression that he still wants to play.<\/p>\n \u201cBut until you sign on the dotted line, you just never know, especially with Aaron.\u201d<\/p>\n On one hand, it makes some level of sense. The Steelers don\u2019t have an immediate proven starter on the roster, nor do they have a path to a quarterback that most people would say is a future leader of the franchise. McCarthy repeatedly expressed his interest in working with QB Will Howard<\/a>, but the Steelers only invested a sixth-round pick in him. It\u2019s unlikely that Howard will be a high-level starting quarterback come Week 1.<\/p>\n If Rodgers is back and healthy, as Kaboly said, he\u2019s the Steelers\u2019 starting quarterback. Would Howard be better off if he started the entire season? Maybe. However, he could benefit from working with McCarthy (and having Rodgers teach him McCarthy\u2019s system) without the pressure of starting.<\/p>\n