Aaron Rodgers Predicted To End Free-Agency Saga By Signing With Jets' AFC Rival

The announcement is beginning to feel like it'll never come

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) smiles after throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the day, Sunday January 5, 2025, in East Rutherford. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Jets have moved on, but Aaron Rodgers is still weighing his options.

After two years with the Jets, Rodgers was officially released Mar. 12, though the decision had long since been made. The 41-year-old's highly volatile tenure in New York ended with the Jets still owing a $49 million dead cap hit, spread out over the next two seasons.

One day, Rodgers will be enshrined in Canton. He's a four-time Most Valuable Player, including winning the award in back-to-back seasons at the start of this decade. But it's hard to know what he has left in the tank, and he's become a tabloid nightmare for whichever team employs him.

At this point, retirement is on the table as Rodgers weighs his options. But the Pittsburgh Steelers are still hoping to sign him, and the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints could still be long shots to land him as well.

On Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon predicted that when the saga eventually comes to a long-awaited conclusion, Rodgers will be playing for the Steelers in 2025.

"We have been waiting for this domino to fall, but it's been two weeks since Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan both expressed confidence that the four-time MVP would become their next starting QB," Gagnon wrote.

"Rodgers is probably drawing this out because that's what he does, but those comments from key figures within the Steelers organization indicate they are pretty confident."

The Jets signed 25-year-old Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract on Mar. 10, so they've been locked into their post-Rodgers plan for almost six weeks. Fields will attempt to help the Jets climb out of the hole Rodgers put them in after the franchise went over backwards to build a roster to his liking last season.

Meanwhile, the Steelers visit MetLife Stadium to take on the Jets this season (schedule not yet released), so Rodgers could get quite a reception if and when he returns to East Rutherford, N.J.

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