Aaron Rodgers Credits Tomlin for Reviving His Fire Before Final Ride
The 42-year-old QB threw for 3,322 yards and 24 TDs in 2025. Now he's chasing a McCarthy 'full circle' — and QB19 upside — in his last season.
Low-end QB2 with streaming upside if McCarthy's offense clicks.
- 3,322 pass yds, 24 TD, 7 INT in 2025 (16 games)
- 227 PPR points last season — our QB19
- Last 5 games: +1.6 fantasy pts vs season avg
- 42 years old, 22 NFL seasons played
- Steelers went 10-7, won AFC North in 2025
Aaron Rodgers isn't hiding the fact that this is the end. Speaking with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Saturday, the 42-year-old said he's played 22 pro seasons plus three in college and never once had an offseason to himself — and that he wants to start a family with his wife. He framed the decision simply: you have to know when it's time.
But before he walks, there's one more year in Pittsburgh — a team that finished 10-7 in 2025 and grabbed the AFC North before another quick playoff exit. Rodgers put up 3,322 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 7 interceptions across 16 games, good for 227 PPR points and our QB19 finish. Not elite. Not a corpse either.
Why He's Still Here
Rodgers said the last three offseasons all carried a whiff of retirement, and that his year in New York — which he called a learning experience he's thankful for — may have been him reading the wrong signs. What pulled him back was Mike Tomlin. Rodgers credited the Steelers coach and locker room with restoring his deep love for the game after a torn Achilles and a rehab year left him feeling like a shell of himself. He was, by his own account, ready to walk away content.
Then Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy, and the math changed. Rodgers reunites with the coach who was on the sideline for his Green Bay prime, and he pitched the return as a 'full circle' the two of them needed. Whether that circle closes cleanly depends entirely on whether McCarthy can match or top last year's division-winning campaign.
The Fantasy Angle
Here's the honest read: a QB19 finish is fine as a bye-week fill-in, not a season-long anchor. The encouraging note is trend — Rodgers averaged +1.6 fantasy points above his season mark over his final five games in 2025, so he wasn't fading down the stretch. A McCarthy scheme that leans on rhythm and timing throws could nudge that touchdown number up.
Bottom line: draft him as a low-end QB2 and stream him in favorable matchups rather than locking him into your Week 1 lineup. There's real upside if the offense hums, but at 42 with a farewell-tour storyline, you want a younger fallback on your bench. Watch camp and the preseason snap counts before you commit.
