There's reportedly a 'miniscule' chance Aaron Rodgers will make this Steelers decision

Since at least Super Bowl weekend, reports have indicated that it is a matter of when and not if 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers will confirm that he is returning to serve as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback for another season. 

According to NFL insider Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports, the individuals who offered such updates may have been mistaken. 

Have people been wrong about Aaron Rodgers' intentions?

"Having spoken to people who were around him, who have been around him, most everyone that I've spoken to who has been around him feels that the chance that he comes back to play is minuscule, so you take that for what it's worth," Kinkhabwala said about Rodgers during a Wednesday appearance on Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan, per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. 

Before the Steelers played their final game of the postseason tournament, a report claimed that he leaked in December that he "probably" would retire during the offseason. However, that was before Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy as the club's next head coach. McCarthy was Rodgers' coach when the two were with the Green Bay Packers from 2006 through much of the 2018 campaign.

Since the Steelers hired McCarthy, reporters and even franchise legend Terry Bradshaw have indicated that people within the organization have been confident that Rodgers will re-sign with the club and stay atop the depth chart through at least the start of the 2026 season. It sounds like Kinkhabwala has heard differently. 

Aaron Rodgers closer to retiring than returning to Steelers?

"In conversations with people who were around him all year who were with him when he was leaving the Steelers when the season was over, all of those people that I spoke to said that it seems far more likely that he is done than that he is going to return," Kinkhabwala added about Rodgers during the segment.

The Steelers are reportedly high on 2025 sixth-round draft pick Will Howard, who took zero meaningful in-game snaps as a rookie. Longtime backup Mason Rudolph is also on the Pittsburgh roster, but it seems likely the club would become a potential landing spot for a different signal-caller if Rodgers has played his final down with the AFC North side. 

If nothing else, Kinkhabwala's update serves as another reminder that the only thing for sure about Rodgers' future is that nothing is for sure until he confirms his plans for 2026.