Steelers Insider Gerry Dulac Talks Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy & More w/Rich

Aaron Rodgers told reporters yesterday that 2026 will be his last NFL season. Gerry Dulac, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's longtime Steelers insider, came on the show this morning to map out what that decision actually changes inside the building.

Start with whether anyone in Pittsburgh was surprised. Dulac was not.

"The Steelers knew all along that this would probably be his last season," Dulac told Rich. "Heck, they thought last year might be his last season."

The franchise has been operating on that assumption since Rodgers first arrived. Every roster move this offseason was made through that lens. Acquiring Michael Pittman to pair with DK Metcalf gave the team a real number-two receiver. Signing Rico Dowdle replaced the departed Kenny Gainwell at running back, an upgrade in Dulac's view. The first-round pick went to the offensive line. The second-round pick went to wide receiver. Seven of Pittsburgh's ten draft selections were offensive players.

Rodgers himself said his decision came after the NFL draft. Dulac noted the timing was slightly later than the Steelers had expected. They had hoped he would commit before the draft. But the moves they made in the weeks leading up to it likely tipped the scale. Rodgers acknowledged as much in his media availability, in his own quiet phrasing.

"Nothing he says at any point at any time ever really surprises me," Dulac said.

The bigger question Rich kept circling was what the McCarthy-Rodgers reunion actually produces. Pittsburgh's offense has been a chronic complaint since Bruce Arians left. Even modest progress last year under Arthur Smith was still well below what the city wanted from the position. McCarthy, in Dulac's view, changes that conversation.

"You're talking about a guy who not only is a proven head coach, he's a proven play caller," Dulac said. He pointed to McCarthy's all-time ranking among NFL play callers as proof that the offensive ceiling has just been raised meaningfully.

Dulac watched two days of OTAs. He stressed how little OTAs actually predict. But he flagged what he saw with Rodgers at age 42. The arm looked the same. The footwork looked the same. He recalled watching Rodgers roll out left, plant, and deliver the kind of Hail Mary throw he has made his whole career. Last season, despite all the public conversation about decline, Rodgers had the longest air-yards throw in the NFL, a 70-yard delivery to DK Metcalf.

"He performed better than what the expectations were for him," Dulac said.

Dulac also relayed something important from his conversations with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard the day before. Both quarterbacks, in Dulac's reading, are visibly different around McCarthy than they were around the previous regime. Dulac called McCarthy "extremely detail-oriented" and noted that even Rudolph, an eight-year veteran, was talking about the way McCarthy works with quarterbacks like he had just learned things he didn't know.

The structural argument lands here. McCarthy did not return to his hometown at 62 to coach a transitional team. The Steelers won their division last year. They have made the playoffs in five of the last six years. McCarthy will not accept anything less from this roster.

The future-of-the-position conversation is where Dulac got specific. The Steelers, in Dulac's read, will not cut Drew Allar. They have not cut a third-round pick since the mid-1980s. The last one they cut was a cornerback named Liffort Hobley. Allar gets the runway. Will Howard, who Dulac watched throw in practice, looked more comfortable than he did a year ago. Some of his throws yesterday, Dulac said, could have passed for Rodgers's throws if you were not watching closely.

Mason Rudolph, in Dulac's reporting, is staying. The Steelers do not want to entrust a Rodgers offense to two backups who have never played an NFL snap. Carrying four quarterbacks, though, is not a typical Pittsburgh approach. Something will have to give.

Dulac did entertain the harder hypothesis. The 2027 Steelers starter, he allowed, may not be on the current roster.

"They know they can't continue going with that revolving door that has been in place since Ben Roethlisberger left," Dulac said. "They want to try and get it right."

Rich's read on what this means for the Steelers' Super Bowl ceiling was less certain. Roster improvement is real. McCarthy is a real upgrade. The AFC competition remains brutal. The conversation never tipped into prediction.

The final question was about the retirement tour. Rich brought up the Roethlisberger walk-up-the-tunnel moment with his family. Dulac said the Steelers will do something similar for Rodgers out of respect, but not at the same scale. Rodgers will retire as a Green Bay Packer, will go into Canton as a Green Bay Packer, and the Steelers know that.

"They get a little sliver of that," Dulac said. "And I think they'll give it the proper due."

Five years from the day Rodgers retires, he is in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Dulac said he would be shocked if it played out any other way.

He then noted the small detail that closed the segment.

"He really likes ice cream," Dulac said.