When it was revealed that free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, it's safe to say the entire NFL world raised one collective eyebrow: would today, at long last, be the day Rodgers announces his next career move?
Alas, we should have known better.
The 41-year-old quarterback did not use the cameo to announce his next steps nor did he give a strong indication of where he was leaning one way or another. Instead, we came out of the show's 1 p.m. hour none the wiser as to the future Hall of Famer's plans for next season.
What the QB did, however, make clear was that (1) his final meeting with the New York Jets was not a good one, and (2) yes, that was him in the Chevy rental car visiting with the Pittsburgh Steelers roughly a month ago.
As to that last point—Rodgers has been linked to the Steel City since some time in March, and he was rumored to have met with the front office at the team facility at the end of last month. An eager photojournalist even staked out the complex day-of, snapping some pics of a man that looked to be Rodgers leaving in a regular white car.
OK #SteelersNation, it’s time to play “You Be The Judge”. I spent the day waiting for @AaronRodgers12 to come out the front door of the #Steelers facilty for @PghSteelersNow which he never did. While waiting, I caught a vehicle coming from the dead end portion of South Water… pic.twitter.com/iAv9MAASHa
— Ed Thompson (@ThompsonFoto12) March 22, 2025
Well, as the quarterback himself confirmed Thursday, that was indeed him in those photos—and the fact that no one knew for sure was all in keeping with his plan.
In an effort to keep the Pittsburgh visit as low-key as possible, "I flew into a different airport," the QB told McAfee on Thursday. "I got a [Chevy Malibu] rental car. Drove the Malibu rental car to the facility, to the backside practice field. Got let in the practice field."
But "then somebody in the building must have said something, and when I came out there was some cameras that were pointed. But there ain't no way they thought, 'This dude is not going to be in a Malibu right now. He's not going to be in a Malibu rental car, is he?' So I drove by 'em. They had a really long lens. And [Rodgers's sister] Mia did a deep dive to see if anybody got a picture, and there was one person who got a picture, and it didn't go anywhere, of me in the Malibu. But that was fun to kind of sneak in, sneak out."
"Obviously I went out to Pittsburgh and I have a lot of respect for Mike Tomlin..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 17, 2025
I'm a big fan of Arthur Smith and I like what he's all about..
It was nice to go into the city and I enjoyed talking to Mike Tomlin" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/nTxyHyywWs
McAfee later brought out the picture—the one from Ed Thompson—and Rodgers said it was the one he saw, as well.
"Hey, there it is!" he said. "That was me. That was 100% me. That was the exact picture that I saw."
LOOK AT YOU IN THIS MALIBU 😂😂
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 17, 2025
THIS IS AWESOME @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/0ezkIIdkjh
Ok, well at least we cleared that up.
What we are still waiting on, though, is an answer as to whether Rodgers will be signing with Pittsburgh, retiring from football entirely, or choosing another club in free agency. Sigh. The saga continues.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Rodgers Confirmed He Did Drive Sneaky Car to Steelers Meeting.
