Aaron Rodgers drops biggest hint yet that he'll be signing with Steelers, rules out playing for the Saints

It looks like Aaron Rodgers is planning to play in 2025

For the first time this offseason, Aaron Rodgers has offered a big hint on whether he plans to play in the NFL this year. The four-time MVP admitted in April that retirement could be on the table for him, but based on his most recent comments, not only does it sound like he'll be playing in 2025, but it seems pretty clear that he has his eyes set on the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

During an interview on the YNK podcast with Mike Stud, Rodgers was asked by a young NFL fan if he would consider playing for the Chicago Bears this year and he offered an interesting answer. 

"No, but I believe there's a team that might play in Chicago this year, for a road trip." Rodgers said of where he might play. 

The 41-year-old was then asked if he would name the team. 

"I don't know, I'm not sure, I'm going to check it out," Rodgers said with a smirk on his face. 

So the big takeaway here is that he won't be playing for the Bears, but he plans on playing for a team that has a road game in Chicago this year. Hello, Pittsburgh. 

For most of the offseason, Rodgers has been connected with the Steelers and it just so happens that Pittsburgh has a road game against the Bears in Week 12, so this is obviously the biggest hint that Rodgers has dropped about possibly signing in Pittsburgh. 

The Bears do also host the Saints in 2025, another team that could use Rodgers, but the veteran QB definitely won't be heading to New Orleans. Rodgers was asked if he would ever consider playing for the Saints and he didn't hesitate with his answer to that question. 

"No," Rodgers said. "That's the answer. I've played there a couple times, but no. The answer is no."

So you can go ahead and rule the Saints out. 

The Bears also play the Vikings at home, but they took themselves out of the Rodgers' sweepstakes earlier this year. Rodgers was connected to Minnesota back in March but the Vikings eventually came out and said that they were happy with J.J. McCarty. The Bears also host the Browns in 2025 but after drafting two quarterbacks (Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel) to add to the two that were already on their roster (Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett), it seems unlikely that that Rodgers would be interested in going to Cleveland. 

What all of this means is that the Steelers should certainly feel a lot better about their chances of landing Rodgers following his comments. 

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At one point during the podcast, Rodgers was directly asked if he would be "going to the Steelers" and he offered a short, three-word answer.

"You never know," the QB replied. 

Considering he gave an emphatic "NO" when asked about going to New Orleans, it's pretty telling that he left the door open when asked about Pittsburgh. 

A little bit later in the podcast, Rodgers did offer another big hint that he might end up in Pittsburgh. Near the end of the show, a Vikings fan said he was excited that Rodgers was going to play at U.S. Bank stadium this year. 

"That game is in Ireland, by the way," Rodgers said. 

The Vikings and Steelers will be playing in Dublin in Week 4. The twist here is that the Vikings fan never mentioned anything about the Steelers, so Rodgers brought them into the conversation on his own. It's also worth pointing out that he seems to know the Steelers' schedule pretty well: He knows they'll be playing in Chicago and he knows they'll be playing in Ireland against the Vikings. Those were the only two games he mentioned during the entire podcast and they just both happened to be Steelers' games. 

Rodgers had said in April that he wasn't sure what he was going to do this year and that he wanted to focus on his personal life before making a decision. 

"I'm open to anything and attached to nothing," Rodgers told Pat McAfee in April. "Retirement could still be a possibility, but right now my focus has been -- and will continue to be -- on my personal life."

During an interview with Joe Rogan this week, Rodgers revealed that a few of his close friends are dealing with cancer, which could very well explain why he's been so focused on his personal life and not football. 

As for the Steelers, they seem to feel good about their chances of landing the one-time Super Bowl winning quarterback. They've been patiently waiting and at the NFL spring league meeting this week, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said his team would continue to play the waiting game with Rodgers. 

"A little while longer," Rooney said of how long his team will wait, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. 

The good news for Rooney and the Steelers is that they might not have to wait much longer based on Rodgers' latest comments.