PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers is running it back with the Pittsburgh Steelers.Two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that the four-time NFL MVP agreed to a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh on Saturday, ending a protracted decision-making process. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.The 42-year-old Rodgers guided Pittsburgh to an AFC North title last year, throwing for 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He seemed to embrace playing for a team whose football roots run deep, much as he did in Green Bay earlier in his career, and now he’ll be a Steeler for his 22nd and perhaps final season.Rodgers reunites with former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, hired to lead the Steelers in January after Mike Tomlin stepped down following 19 seasons.Rodgers and McCarthy spent 13 years together in Green Bay, where Rodgers blossomed into one of the game’s biggest stars after becoming the starting quarterback in 2008. Green Bay won its fourth Super Bowl and Rodgers earned two of his four MVPs with McCarthy calling the plays.
The arrangement will be much the same with the Steelers, though both player and coach are in different phases of their respective careers. This figures to be Rodgers’ last ride, and the 64-year-old McCarthy is almost certainly ending his coaching journey a few miles from the Greenfield neighborhood where he grew up.
