Aaron Rodgers Reflects on 22-Year Career Ahead of Steelers-Packers Preseason Finale
Aaron Rodgers is closing out his NFL career the same way he’s played most of it: grateful, a little wistful, and still cracking jokes at practice. With training camp winding down and his final season underway, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback spent Wednesday reflecting on what 22 years in the league actually meant to him.
Rodgers announced in May that 2026 will be his final season, closing the book on a career that started in Green Bay in 2005. Asked what he’s most thankful for as the finish line approaches, Rodgers didn’t hesitate.
“Definitely the people I got to do it with,” Rodgers said, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, who shared the comment on X on Wednesday.
It’s the kind of answer that fits where Rodgers is right now. He’s not chasing another MVP or trying to prove he still belongs. He’s soaking in what’s left. And Wednesday gave him one more chance to do that in front of the Green Bay press corps, the team he spent 18 seasons with before stops in New York and Pittsburgh.
Rodgers Wanted One Last Trip to Lambeau
The Steelers host the Packers Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium in the preseason opener for both teams, but Rodgers made it clear he wished the circumstances were different. Earlier Wednesday, in the same session with reporters, he said he wanted the game in Green Bay instead.
Aaron Rodgers on a Zoom with Wisconsin media in advance of Thursday’s preseason game at Pittsburgh when asked if wishes the game was in Green Bay:
“100 percent. … Was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay.”
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 12, 2026
“100 percent. … Was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay,” Rodgers said.
It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of a preseason exhibition, but it says something about how Rodgers is approaching this final year. Lambeau Field is where he won four MVPs and Super Bowl XLV. A trip back, even for a meaningless August tune-up, would have been a fitting bookend. Instead, the reunion comes to him — Green Bay travels to Pittsburgh, and it’s still not yet known whether Rodgers or Packers starter Jordan Love will actually play in the game, since teams typically rest veteran starters in preseason openers.
Rodgers didn’t stop at nostalgia about the stadium. At practice, he made a point of thanking several longtime figures from his Packers days who are still around the organization in some capacity — practice referee Larry Van Alstine and longtime Packers broadcaster Larry McCarren among them, along with the equipment staff who’ve worked with him for years. It was a small, human moment from a player who knows exactly how many of these camps he has left.
A Strong Bounce-Back Season in Pittsburgh
Whatever sentimentality Rodgers is carrying into his final year, it’s backed by real production. He’s entering his second season with the Steelers off one of his better statistical years in nearly half a decade.
| Category | 2025 Stat |
|---|---|
| Games Played | 16 |
| Passing Yards | 3,322 |
| Touchdowns | 24 |
| Interceptions | 7 |
| Passer Rating | 94.8 |
That passer rating was his best since his 2021 MVP campaign, and it helped push Pittsburgh to a 10-7 finish and the AFC North title. The season ended in disappointment, though — the Steelers were knocked out by the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, leaving Rodgers and the organization to chase that elusive deep playoff run one more time in 2026.
Rodgers came close to not returning at all. He’s said the coaching change from Mike Tomlin to Mike McCarthy — his longtime Packers head coach — played a real role in bringing him back for a second Pittsburgh season, given the two spent 18 years together in Green Bay, including their Super Bowl XLV run.
The Final Chapter
By the time this season ends, Rodgers will have played for three franchises across 22 years: Green Bay, where he built a Hall of Fame résumé and won a Super Bowl; the New York Jets, where an Achilles injury wiped out most of two seasons; and Pittsburgh, where he’s found something closer to a proper farewell tour.
Thursday’s game won’t count for anything in the standings. Rodgers may not even play meaningful snaps in it. But for a quarterback who’s spent the last several months talking openly about gratitude rather than legacy, facing his old team one more time — even in the wrong stadium — is still worth something.
