Rodgers won't make 'emotional decisions' about future, backs Tomlin

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers once again left his future open-ended after a crushing 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.

"I'm not going to make any emotional decisions," Rodgers said when asked how Monday's defeat affects his future in the NFL. "(I'm) disappointed, obviously. Such a fun year, lot of adversity but lot of fun. Been a great year."

The 42-year-old joined the Steelers for his 21st season on a one-year contract over the spring. He said in June that he was "pretty sure" this would be the final year of his decorated career. But the four-time MVP recently stated that he'd have "options" if he decides to extend his NFL journey.

Rodgers was also asked if he'd want to return to Pittsburgh for another year, should he decide to keep playing.

"I'm not going to talk about that," he said.

The 10-time Pro Bowler completed only 17 of 33 attempts against Houston for 146 yards and no touchdowns with one interception, a long pick-6 on his final pass of the game.

Mike Tomlin's future as the Steelers' head coach is also in question after Pittsburgh dropped its seventh consecutive postseason game. Rodgers strongly supported Tomlin despite the loss.

"This league has changed a lot in my 21 years," Rodgers said. "When you hear conversations about the Mike Tomlins of the world, the Matt LaFleurs of the world ... when I first got into the league, there wouldn't be conversations about whether those guys were on the hot seat.

"But the way the league is covered now, the way that there's snap decisions, and validity given to the Twitter experts and all the experts on TV now who make it seem like they know what the hell they're talking about, to me that's an absolute joke. For either of those two guys to be on the hot seat is really apropos of where we are as a society and league."

Rodgers has played for three NFL teams. He spent 18 years with the Green Bay Packers, leading the team to a Super Bowl title and becoming the franchise's all-time leader with 475 touchdown passes. He worked with LaFleur for four seasons in Green Bay.

The Packers traded Rodgers to the New York Jets in 2023, and the Jets released him after two unsuccessful seasons.