Newest Steelers receiver Michael Pittman Jr talks possible Aaron Rodgers return: 'I'm hoping he's close'

The Pittsburgh Steelers are inactive waiting connected Aaron Rodgers’ 2026 NFL play determination — volition helium play, oregon is status yet calling for the four-time MVP?

The Steelers and caput manager Mike McCarthy, his aged person from their clip with the Green Bay Packers, proceed to hold patiently, and truthful is 1 of the newest successful the building: wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

"I’m hoping he’s close," Pittman told Fox News Digital during a caller interrogation up of his clip astatine the 2026 NFL Draft successful Pittsburgh with Toyota.

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Newest Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Michael Pittman Jr. hopes Aaron Rodgers is "close" connected making his determination of whether to play oregon not successful 2026. (Getty Images)

Pittman arrived successful Pittsburgh earlier this offseason aft the Indianapolis Colts reached a commercialized with the Steelers to nonstop the seven-year receiver east. As helium continues to get acclimated, Pittman is already proceeding the question: Is Rodgers coming back?

"I don’t cognize thing — radical deliberation that we cognize something. Why would Aaron archer maine anything?" helium said, laughing.

Pittman said helium isn’t "worried astir it excessively much" from a idiosyncratic perspective, fixed his clip successful Indianapolis was riddled with backmost turnover. Throughout his tenure with the Colts, Pittman played for 10 antithetic starting quarterbacks, including Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Daniel Jones this past season.

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It adjacent got truthful atrocious successful 2025 pursuing Jones’ wounded that helium was reunited with Rivers, who was signed successful hopes helium could assistance salvage the season.

Aaron Rodgers (8) of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks connected looks connected during the nationalist anthem anterior to an NFL shot crippled against the Baltimore Ravens astatine Acrisure Stadium connected Jan. 04, 2026 successful Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

But portion immoderate of those guys are apt heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame 1 day, there’s nary doubting Rodgers’ Canton hopes and what helium brings to a squad adjacent if helium is turning 43 successful December.

"Obviously, Aaron is simply a large subordinate — look astatine everything he’s done," Pittman added. "We would emotion to person him back. At the extremity of the day, helium has to determine that for himself."

Rodgers whitethorn not beryllium astatine the Steelers’ commencement to voluntary offseason program, but helium is moving retired to enactment successful signifier successful mentation for the caller play if helium decides to return. But determination has been vigor soundlessness betwixt some sides, according to NFL Network, and determination is nary anticipation to perceive from him earlier the archetypal circular of the draught begins connected Thursday night.

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While Pittman, the Steelers and the remainder of the NFL hold to perceive from Rodgers, Will Howard, the team’s sixth-round prime successful past year’s draft, is the expected starting backmost for McCarthy’s squad heading into the voluntary workouts.

In the meantime, Pittman volition proceed to bask the sports-crazed metropolis helium present calls home.

"Being successful Pittsburgh, conscionable the vibe of driving around, everybody is wearing thing sports. It’s either the Steelers, the Pirates oregon the Penguins," Pittman explained. "Somebody’s wearing immoderate achromatic and gold, which I deliberation is awesome. They emotion their shot there. I mean, Indy loves football, too. I’m not taking thing distant from Indy fans, but it’s conscionable the Pittsburgh — everybody knows Pittsburgh for being Pittsburgh. The Steelers, the fans. The municipality is acceptable connected these rivers. The stadium is close there, the scenery. It is thing crazy, and I’m excited to beryllium determination and beryllium capable to play for them."

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) looks connected during the NFL shot crippled betwixt the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers connected Nov. 2, 2025 astatine Acrisure Stadium successful Pittsburgh, PA. (Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire)

IMPACTING LOCAL FLAG FOOTBALL WITH TOYOTA

Pittman is ever looking to interaction his community, particularly being successful a caller city. Following his relation arsenic a manager during Toyota’s Glow Up Classic during Super Bowl week successful San Francisco, Pittman is backmost with the automotive shaper for a peculiar NFL Draft emblem shot grooming campy featuring Pittsburgh precocious schoolhouse girls emblem players connected the eve of draught night.

Pittman, alongside immoderate NFL Draft prospects and members of the U.S. Women’s National Flag Football team, volition beryllium putting connected his coach’s chapeau to assistance coordinate drills, portion giving acquisition and mentorship to those girls participating.

And adjacent better, prime participants volition beryllium chosen to locomotion the NFL Draft Red Carpet, arsenic they get to acquisition and witnesser immoderate of the champion young players successful shot fulfill their dream, similar Pittman, of proceeding their names called successful the NFL Draft.

Youth players enactment successful the Toyota Glow-Up Classic, a glow-in-the-dark emblem shot exhibition, astatine the Super Bowl Experience successful San Francisco connected Feb. 4, 2026. Toyota is providing grants to each younker subordinate for their emblem shot future. (Jeff Lewis/AP Content Services for Toyota Motor North America)

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With caller nationalist information from Campus Multimedia and YouGov uncovering that 70% of teens (12-17) privation brands supporting their schoolhouse community, this is conscionable different illustration of however Toyota is making an interaction successful communities each implicit the country. As an authoritative spouse of NFL FLAG league play, which has helped turn the crippled by reaching implicit 300,000 younker players nationwide with implicit $3 cardinal successful support, Toyota is besides buying each NFL FLAG autumn registration kit fees for existent players successful the Pittsburgh Flag Football League (PFFL) coed younker and precocious schoolhouse girls leagues.

"Our main connection to these girls is to seizure their spotlight, and I conscionable cognize this is each for them," Pittman said. "We’re conscionable determination to pump them up and anyhow we tin champion them and conscionable assistance them up and fto them cognize we’re present to enactment girls emblem and we privation to marque it a renowned sport."

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