Jason Burgos
Could the Pittsburgh Steelers lose Aaron Rodgers to the Denver Broncos? A surprising new report suggests there may be real competition in free agency for the future Hall of Famer.
Rodgers’ two seasons with the New York Jets were a disaster. In his first year, he tore his Achilles tendon just minutes into his regular-season debut. Then, after battling back to the field at 41 years old, he led a 5-12 team and seemed on the verge of ending his illustrious career on a miserable note.
However, his ego wouldn’t allow it, and he decided to play another season and proved he could still be an impact starter in the league during his year with the Steelers. The team went 10-6 in 2025 and reached the playoffs. That would be a fitting end to a career and would be far better than most legends. However, Rodgers is still flirting with the idea of playing in 2026.
Most assume that if he does return, it would be with the Steelers and former — now new — head coach Mike McCarthy. Or maybe not. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, “There’s talk of the Broncos possibly bringing Rodgers in for a visit.”
The possibility is surprising because it seems like the Broncos have a young franchise quarterback in 2024 first-round pick Bo Nix. However, the young QB broke his ankle in the final drive of their Divisional Round playoff win over the Buffalo Bills in December. Florio speculates that Denver may be under the impression Nix won’t be ready in Week 1.
Is Aaron Rodgers an upgrade over Bo Nix?
But he also suggested that maybe a pivot to Rodgers may be viewed as an upgrade to head coach Sean Payton.
“Beyond the basic question of whether Nix will be healthy is whether Nix gives the Broncos the best chance to get to the Super Bowl and win it. Coach Sean Payton, who, like any coach who has won a Super Bowl with one team, is keenly aware that no coach has won a Super Bowl with two different franchises, may be tempted to roll the dice on a possible one-year upgrade (if Rodgers would truly be an upgrade) to finish the work the Broncos started in 2025,” Florio wrote.
There have been rumblings in recent months that the coach and QB aren’t on the same page heading into the 2026 season. This might open the door for Payton to be bold enough to replace him. It is also interesting that Rodgers has chosen not to quickly re-sign with the Steelers when they seem like the only interested team. Maybe he was specifically waiting for an opportunity just like this.
A strong case could be made if Nix were healthy in the AFC Championship game, Denver gets to the Super Bowl. They have a roster and defense ready to win it all now.
