Mike Tomlin believes Aaron Rodgers will play for Steelers in 2026: ‘Love affair with the game’

Former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin predicted that Aaron Rodgers would be back with the Steelers in 2026.

Tomlin, who is officially a member of the NBC broadcast team covering the NFL, thinks Rodgers has an addiction" to the game of football and that it would be hard for him to step away just yet.

Mike Tomlin joins Maria Taylor to talk about his new role on Football Night In America on NBC and Peacock! pic.twitter.com/dxiLKFQlw4

- NBC Sports (@NBCSports) April 26, 2026

Man, if you've got a gun to my head, I'd say it's AR, Aaron," Tomlin told Maria Taylor on the NBA pregame show on NBC on Sunday, with ex-NFL coach there to promote his new gig on the network.

I just think being around him for the 12 months that I'm around him, he got a love affair with the game of football," Tomlin continued on Rodgers. And not only the game, but the process. The informal moments, the development of younger guys, the interaction with teammates. I think he has an addiction to that. And there's only one way to feed it, and certainly, he is still capable and in really good shape, and so I think at the end of the day, he'll play football."

Mike Tomlin makes his NBC debut after his Steelers exit. NBC Sports/X

Tomlin had coached the Steelers for 19 seasons and the 2025 campaign was his final one at the helm, which was also Rodgers' first in Pittsburgh.

So far, Rodgers has not indicated whether or not he'd be playing in 2026 and last season, he didn't sign until the Steelers' mandatory minicamp in June.

The Steelers have a crowded quarterback room even before adding Rodgers to the mix.

Pittsburgh used its third-round pick in this year's draft to take Penn State QB Drew Allar, and they already have Mason Rudolph and Will Howard on the roster.

For the first time in quite a while, Tomlin won't have to deal with roster decisions or deciphering who would be the best starting quarterback for the Steelers.

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks off the field at the end of the second half when the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Houston Texans in their AFC Wild Card round Monday, January 12, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Tomlin resigned as head coach in February and in his first interview since then, he told Taylor that the decision to step down was not an overnight decision."

But it's probably not something that I could articulate or share with people," he said. There's a loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me, personally. And by that, I mean just where I am in life. And I thought it was a good time for the organization, to be quite honest with you. We didn't have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years."