Ever since the Minnesota Vikings decided to move forward with J.J. McCarthy instead of entertaining a future with Aaron Rodgers, it’s been quite clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers are his only real option. Derek Carr’s retirement in New Orleans briefly raised questions about the validity of the Saints being a suitor, but one insider is reporting that never made sense to begin with.
“No surprise here, but Aaron Rodgers never really was a consideration for the Saints in the wake of Derek Carr retirement,” NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan wrote on X. “At their current stages, they don’t make sense for him, and he doesn’t make sense for them.”
Rodgers just endured two difficult seasons with the New York Jets. At 41 years old, he may be preparing for his final season in the league. Would he really want to do that with a team that just finished 5-12? They never really made sense for him. On the flipside, why would the Saints want a one-year rental when they are in the middle of a full rebuild?
They just drafted Louisville QB Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. At nearly 26 years old, they need to get the ball rolling on Shough as soon as possible to see what they have in him. And he was arguably the most NFL ready of the bunch in this year’s draft. If they were to bring in somebody like Rodgers, they would get less intel on Shough and have tough decisions to make with limited information in next year’s potentially QB-loaded draft.
This further reinforces the idea that Rodgers’ only option to finish out his career is the Steelers. And all signs continue to point to that soon becoming a reality. Team president Art Rooney II has expressed confidence that he will eventually sign at multiple points throughout this offseason.
