Adam Schefter is part human and part NFL encyclopedia.
If NFL fans are tormented by the unknown surrounding what their favorite teams might do next, Schefter probably already knows. And he probably found out about it a long time ago.
Schefter is finally stumped. Of course, Aaron Rodgers, 42, is the one to mystify him. The four-time NFL MVP quarterback didn’t title his Netflix documentary “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma” for no reason.
Schefter appeared for his regular hit on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, and he was inevitably asked about Rodgers’ ongoing indecision, at least publicly, over whether to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2026 season.
“Pittsburgh right now also doesn’t have an answer from its quarterback,” Schefter said. “Now, I know that everybody expects him back, believes he’s gonna be back, but the last I checked, they were getting an answer — or they thought they were getting an answer — 30 days after the season. That hasn’t come.”
Schefter is so perplexed that he joked that maybe Rodgers will just use the 2026 NFL Draft stage to announce his return to the Steelers. The draft will take place in Pittsburgh from April 23 to April 25.
Ultimately, Schefter reiterated that he is just as confused as everybody else.
“I mean, nobody has heard anything!” Schefter said. “It just keeps being pushed down the line.”
“Pat McAfee Show” co-host A.J. Hawk, who won a Super Bowl with Rodgers in Green Bay, asked Schefter what the Steelers are telling him.
Schefter responded, “They’re not frustrated. Again, I just think people thought there would be an answer. I remember asking various people, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we should have an answer here in 30 days.’ OK, great. Well, 30 days came and went. I’m like, ‘Where are we at?! Where are we at now? Answer?’ And [they’re] like, ‘We should have an answer mid-March.’ I’m like, ‘Great! OK.’
Well, we’re at mid-March. Now, we have [Steelers owner] Art Rooney saying, ‘We expect to have an answer before the draft.’ Well, do you have an answer? I don’t know. Wait and see.”
This is not a new pattern for Rodgers.
In February 2023, Rodgers introduced “darkness retreat” to the mainstream lexicon when he entered one with his mind trained on “90% retiring.” Then, the Green Bay Packers traded him to the New York Jets that April.
Rodgers’ triumphant turn as the Jets’ savior lasted all of four snaps before he tore his Achilles in New York’s season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
After missing the entire 2023 season, Rodgers had the Jets on a seesaw in the 2024 offseason. There was at least one May 2024 news cycle dominated by Rodgers’ reported desire to be then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, and then he skipped the Jets’ mandatory minicamp to travel to Egypt that July.
When the Jets unceremoniously cut Rodgers in February 2025, he made the Steelers wait until June before signing a one-year contract last offseason.
On March 4, Rodgers joined “The Pat McAfee Show” and explained his laissez-faire attitude toward his NFL free agency.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time with my wife,” Rodgers told McAfee. “We went on a ski trip, just been laying low. There’s a lot of other things going on. […] I’ve talked to [Steelers head coach] Mike [McCarthy]. I’ve talked to [Steelers GM] Omar [Khan]. There’s been no deadline that’s been put in front of me. There’s no contract offer or anything, so there’s nothing that I’m having to debate between.”
Rodgers said there would be “conversations to be had down the line,” just not yet. That was over a month ago, so maybe those “progressive conversations” have since taken place. But Schefter would be the one to break that news, and he hasn’t.
The Steelers hold 12 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, including No. 21 overall in the first round. Will Howard, a 2025 sixth-round pick, and longtime backup Mason Rudolph are currently the only quarterbacks on Pittsburgh’s roster.