Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed this past spring that he plans to retire at some point after Pittsburgh’s 2026 season wraps up.
Rodgers turns 43 this coming December, and some understandably have wondered whether he can no longer play at the level needed to help a team win a Super Bowl. During a recent appearance on ESPN Milwaukee, former NFL quarterback and current analyst Matt Hasselbeck shared some advice for Rodgers ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Steelers need “point guard” Aaron Rodgers, not “Michael Jordan” Aaron Rodgers
“I think he’s gonna do really well, as long as he has learned from his mistakes when he was with the New York Jets,” Hasselbeck said about Rodgers, per Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. “I think you’ve got to change how you play as you get older. You can’t be Michael Jordan anymore. I think you’ve gotta be a little more point guard, distributor.”
The Jets were advertised as Super Bowl contenders when they had Rodgers serving as their QB1 for training-camp workouts in the summer of 2023. He then went down with a torn Achilles tendon four offensive snaps into the 2023 regular-season opener, and he more recently dealt with a reported small fracture in his left (non-throwing) wrist last fall.
As for the Steelers, Jaylen Warren led the team for the 2025 season with 958 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. This past March, Pittsburgh came to terms on a two-year, $12.25M deal with fellow running back Rico Dowdle. Over 17 games with the Carolina Panthers last season, Dowdle rushed for 1,076 yards and six scores.
Will Aaron Rodgers be willing to “tweak his game” this fall?
“His arm can probably play for 10 more years,” Hasselbeck added about Rodgers. “But I don’t think his body is as elusive. I think he needs to change the style of play. Sometimes you’ve got to humble yourself and allow yourself to be coached, even when you’re one of the greatest of all time… If he can tweak his game a little bit, I think they could win that division.”
Hasselbeck thinks that Rodgers must be willing to lean on the combination of Warren and Dowdle. Such takes are easy to share in July, but it remains to be seen if Rodgers will embrace a “hero ball” mentality once the games begin to matter in September.
