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Aaron Rodgers watch continues.
The 2026 NFL Draft is officially in the rearview and the Pittsburgh Steelers still don't know if their starting quarterback will return for another season. Team owner Art Rooney II spoke about the latest with Rodgers during an appearance on NFL Network's "The Insiders" on April 29.
"We've been in contact with Aaron on a regular basis," Rooney told NFL Media's Tom Pelissero and Judy Battista. "He's been keeping us up to date on his plans."
“Even though I thought it probably would have been concluded by now, I think we will come to a conclusion here in the next few weeks."
Rodgers' decision to play or retire has been hanging over the organization for months, with no end in sight. The four-time NFL MVP told "The Pat McAfee Show" on March 4 that he didn't have a contract offer or a deadline from the Steelers.
Rooney previously expected a decision ahead of the draft, something that never materialized.
The saga took another turn on Tuesday, April 28 when news broke that the Steelers were placing the seldom-used unrestricted free agent tender on the quarterback. It's a move that ensures the team would receive a compensatory draft pick if Rodgers signed with another team.
Rooney explained the process behind the decision to Pelissero and Battista.
"The main thing that the tender gives us is the potential for a comp pick if Aaron would choose to go to another team," Rooney said. "We don't expect that, but by the same token, you never know. It's just something that we had an opportunity to protect if needed. The deadline was Monday so if we were gonna do it, we had to pull the trigger on Monday.
"We alerted Aaron and his representative that we were going to do it so not a real big deal, but something in the unlikely event that he goes somewhere else, we are eligible for a comp pick in that situation."
It's unclear what other opportunities would be available to Rodgers if he elected to sign elsewhere. Unless the quarterback waits for a potential injury-related opening, options are limited across the league.
That makes it seem like the decision is between playing for the Steelers or retiring.
Rodgers has remained mum on his future, outside of a June 24, 2025 appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" when the quarterback said he was "pretty sure this is it," ahead of the 2025 season. That tune was later changed as the season moved along and the door was seemingly reopened to playing another year in the league.
Eventually, Rodgers will make a decision about his NFL future. When that decision will be made, however, is anyone's guess.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Art Rooney II explains Aaron Rodgers contract, decision timeline
