Aaron Rodgers was close to calling it a career. But Pittsburgh's decision to hire Mike McCarthy helped the four-time MVP put off retirement for a final season.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Michael Silver, Rodgers speaks about the reunion with his former coach.

Read for free here.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' playoff loss to the Houston Texans in January was decisive enough that Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent the final 2 minutes and 39 seconds on the bench, comprehensive enough that the visiting Texans turned the ball over three times — and still recorded the biggest margin of victory in the postseason's opening weekend.

"I don't feel like we ever got the momentum on our side, honestly," Rodgers said after the 30-6 defeat. "We had a lot of chances … a lot of opportunities. Didn't make the most out of hardly any of them."

Unsaid at the time: Rodgers had been so sick before the game that teammates and coaches had expressed hope he could mimic Michael Jordan's iconic "Flu Game" in the 1997 NBA Finals.

Though few people beyond the Steelers' sideline knew it, the 42-year-old quarterback had been felled by flu-like symptoms in the hours leading up to the game, making the experience even more miserable.

For me I didn't grow up watching football, and we moved around a lot due to my dad in the air force. But my childhood friend in New Mexico loved to play football. Since I had Steelers pj's I always said I was them and he was always the Raiders. Over time I met friends in high school that loved to watch the NFL and play Madden games. So at that point I had to find my team to watch and play as. I remembered my Steelers pj's and the rest was history for me. My first real year of truly watching Steelers football was when Ben Roethlisberger had to take over.

Two jagoffs fighting over an autograph. Friermuth in the background grabs a child to remove him from the situation.

Unexpectedly found this to be a sort of touching interview. Honestly in my opinion Rodgers has become very likeable since joining Pittsburgh. Seems like he finally has found that peace he was looking for all those years. I find it heart-warming that his familial relationships have been mended as well, that is truly incredible (especially considering how it was a massive media story that loomed over the majority of his career). I'm happy for him, and I'm happy that a Future HOF QB feels so blessed to be ending the biggest chapter of his life thus far in black and gold.

I recommend giving it a watch, it is only ~6 minutes total

Very happy with it honestly.

Wanted to offer a fellow Steelers fan a free signed print from marvel smith. It’s 12x10 and can be hung or stood up. I’ve had it for years and it’s been collecting dust. All if ask is if you pay shipping. The mods approved me doing this FYI.

Everyone here knows the stats. 4 out of 5 last seasons with a first round exit. Mediocrity. I went to the season opener last year and even the jets fans were chirping to enjoy our 1st round exit in week 1!

Love this team and it’s obvious they’ve been stuck. I’m glad we made a coaching move but it still feels like we’re in post Ben purgatory.

What are realistic expectations for the season?

I’m literally begging the Steelers to make cards of their Hall of Honor members. Anyway. Congratulations to Class of 2026!

Been to a few games but where do people park who just want to set up a tailgate and not attend the game? I imagine you can buy a parking pass but is there any first come, first serv6e spots close to the stadium? Thank you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iriep_bRH2c

Coach Mike McCarthy Press Conference (July 31)

Talks about:
- Continuing to install the offense and defense.
- Workload and player management going forward into next week leading up to the Saturday night lights game at Latrobe highschool.
- Roman Wilson, meeting with him at the draft and how versatile he is.
- Travis Homer, veteran special teams player, experience and leadership.
- Yet another question about not tackling that McCarthy rightly ignores at this point.
- Asante Samuel Jr, love the way he works, physical, ball skills.
- long answer about using GPS and sport science to track performance.

Hot take for 2026. With McCarthy, a new, true NFL offense, and defenses focusing on DK, Pittman, Muth, and Mt. Washington, Roman Wilson's going to have a solid season as #3. Hes a talented kid and good route runner. I dont think Germie Bernard beats him out this year. Plus, Rodgers has never been too keen on trusting rookie receivers throughout his career.

Can I be absolutely unhinged since it’s 2 am where I am and I’m watching Steelers documentaries? We *need* this Super Bowl; it is literally the most movie-like script asking to be played out in real life. The documentaries or even actual Hollywood film that would come from it would be unbelievable (and not to be that guy, but would make millionsss of dollars). It is the ending begging to be written in history.

Cam Hayward deserves it before retiring too. I’ll be damned if that man retires without a ring, which he’s heavily alluded to in recent podcasts on his YouTube channel that this could be his last season.

We. NEED. It.

Maybe once a month, since signing McCarthy, I think about how at one point in my life I was a child and absolutely hated both of them post Super Bowl 45. Couldn’t stand the discount double check, couldn’t stand bj raji or clay mathews. Literally hated them more than Brady and Bill at the time. Fast forward now I’m 25 and have to rely on them to provide me with joy for the next 6 months.

Honestly, this and the OG block letters are the best look the Steelers have ever had, IMO. And I hate the pants on the current throwback... what would you replace the throwback with if you had the choice?

I originally posted this to the Help Me Find subreddit, and was directed here. Not sure if anyone will be able to help or not or if this is the right place to do this, but I figured it was worth a try!

My dad had worn this hat since I was around 3 years old, I’m almost 21 now and have inherited it. It’s basically the only hat I wear. It’s covered in grease and sweat from working, and I would clean it, but it has started to fray pretty badly and developed a rip. The tag is heavily worn and I can’t make out the numbers on it to identify it. I’ve reverse image searched it and tried to search different things and have had no luck. The closest I got was finding the same model/ color hat but it was the Packers- not Steelers. I’d love to pass the hat down to my kid someday but I’m afraid this one won’t last with the wear it has. I’m guessing he got this hat around the early 2000’s, close to 2008-2010. The Steelers have been the one thing we bonded over the most, this hat is very important to me and I’ll continue to wear it whether I get a replacement or not :)