{"id":262646,"date":"2026-01-13T13:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=262646"},"modified":"2026-01-13T00:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T05:15:27","slug":"nfl-legend-aaron-rodgers-could-leave-steelers-to-join-these-contenders-after-embarrassing-playoff-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/13\/nfl-legend-aaron-rodgers-could-leave-steelers-to-join-these-contenders-after-embarrassing-playoff-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Legend Could Leave Steelers to Join These Contenders After Embarrassing Playoff Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the blowout loss to the Houston Texans, the Pittsburgh Steelers may have seen the last of veteran Aaron Rodgers, at least on their team. Now, the biggest question is whether or not the long-time quarterback will return<\/a> to play for another season. It has been rumored that Rodgers would “probably”<\/a> retire after the 2025 season, but since the wild-card loss, the veteran might be motivated to head elsewhere to win a championship. Rodgers is only going to get older, but he wants to win a Super Bowl similar to what Tom Brady<\/a> did with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

NFL Legend Aaron Rodgers Could Leave Steelers to Join These Contenders – 3 Suitors Emerge<\/h2>\n

Rodgers is open to returning to the Steelers, but that might not happen anymore, as the team could fire head coach Mike Tomlin. This is why there’s a chance that Rodgers could return to the league and on a different team. Originally selected in the 2005 NFL Draft, the former California product is coming off the worst wild-card performance. However, he still has some type of gas if given the right environment next season, if Rodgers decides to continue playing.<\/p>\n

It’s hard to imagine seeing Rodgers calling it a career after what he experienced against Houston. He could join another roster on a one-year contract, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Rodgers will take some time away this offseason to think once again and will most likely do so before the NFL Training Camp. It won’t be the easiest transition, but these three teams could make his life a charm to win one more ring.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n

Why not? The Carolina Panthers are building a promising defense led by Derrick Brown and Tershawn Wharton, which would set things up nicely for a veteran quarterback. This gives Bryce Young<\/a> a chance to hit pause as the starter and learn from one of the greats in football. Carolina snuck themselves into the postseason and was better than expected despite the loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It proves that the Panthers can compete when they have weapons, and Tetairoa McMillan alongside Jalen Coker is the perfect representation of that.<\/p>\n

Rodgers isn’t going to get a playoff feel from this team, but head coach Dave Canales could add a few promising free agents this offseason to convince him to join.<\/p>\n

\"Bryce
Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Indianapolis Colts<\/h3>\n

The Colts attempted a nostalgia run with veteran Philip Rivers<\/a>, which ultimately didn’t work out in their favor. Due to Daniel Jones’ injury, the team had no other choice but to get an immediate answer after going 7-1. Jones will probably return on a major contract, but the Colts should probably get Rodgers on a one-year deal. This buys Jones some time to settle into this offense from recovery, especially when they don’t have the desired cap space to make any moves this offseason.<\/p>\n

With Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce’s contracts to worry about, the team signing Rodgers for one more run should be a lucrative destination for him if they can find a way to retain both of them.<\/p>\n

\"Philip
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) meet on the field Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, after the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Minnesota Vikings<\/h3>\n

The most obvious destination for Rodgers is the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers was heavily linked to the team this past offseason, and the team could revisit the idea this year. JJ McCarthy<\/a> hasn’t been able to stay consistent or healthy for the majority of the 2025 campaign. Despite the Vikings finishing the season strong, they have their defense<\/a> to thank. This sets up Rodgers as another team to join to give him several opportunities to thrive in the pocket while throwing darts to Justin Jefferson.<\/p>\n

\"vikings
Main Photo: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The controversial NFL legend could come back for one more season and leave the Steelers to join these three teams. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":262649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,30,12,26,6431,9],"tags":[275,9487,7739,7800,32491,7753,7661,362,7366,331],"class_list":["post-262646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-panthers","category-colts","category-vikings","category-nfl-teams","category-steelers","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-bryce-young","tag-carolina-panthers-news","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-jj-mccarthy","tag-minnesota-vikings-news","tag-panthers-featured","tag-philip-rivers","tag-pittsburgh-steelers-news","tag-tom-brady"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262646"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262654,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262646\/revisions\/262654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}