PITTSBURGH >> Aaron Rodgers doesn’t need to keep doing this. He knows that.

The four-time NFL MVP’s decision to return for a 21st season and to do it in Pittsburgh was not about trying to prove something to himself, the New York Jets or anyone else.

The game has given a lot to him. Stardom. Wealth. A title. Relationships that will last long after he decides to stop playing. The next seven months — if they are indeed the last seven months of a career that almost certainly will end with a gold jacket and a bust in the Hall of Fame — are about trying to pay it forward while finding peace in the process.

Standing in front of a sea of cameras more suited for the week ahead of a conference championship game rather than what Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin calls “football-lite” in June, the 41-year-old Rodgers made a compelling case that the coda he is trying to author in Pittsburgh is about something deeper.

“A lot of decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling,” Rodgers said Tuesday after the first day of Pittsburgh’s mandatory minicamp. “But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So this was a decision that was best for my soul.”

And one the Steelers believe is best for business, one of the reasons they put no pressure on Rodgers during the spring as he dealt with off-the-field issues that he’s said included having multiple people in his inner circle battle cancer.

Rodgers said those issues “have improved a bit,” clearing the way for him to join Tomlin and a team that has bounced from one quarterback to another since Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season.

While Rodgers is hardly a long-term solution, he believes he has enough left to help a club that has gone nearly a decade without winning a playoff game. The path from the second Tuesday in June to late January and beyond is a long one, and Rodgers balked when asked if he could help Pittsburgh get over “the hump.”

He pointed out it was simply Day 1, with all the awkwardness that comes with it.

Rodgers couldn’t “stand” the new helmet he was forced to don after the model he’d worn for the last 20 years was finally banned by the league. He didn’t know many of the names of the other 88 guys who joined him on the practice fields on a day All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt skipped in hopes of landing a new contract. It took all of one step outside the locker room for him to immediately get lost.

And yet, there was a familiarity to it all. He’s known Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth since Arth made a cameo appearance alongside Rodgers as a player in Green Bay in 2006. Rodgers then rattled off a list of people he’s come across with Pittsburgh ties (which includes former Packers coach Mike McCarthy) and then added with a smile that he has “a lot of Yinzers” in my life, a colloquialism for Western Pennsylvania natives.

None of those names, however, convinced Rodgers that Pittsburgh was the right choice. That was all Tomlin.

The two stayed in contact over the last two-plus months following Rodgers’ semi-undercover visit to the team facility in March, producing what Rodgers called “some of the coolest conversations I’ve had in the game.”

“He’s a big reason I’m here,” Rodgers said. “I believe in him.”

The feeling is mutual. Unlike last year, when there was a quarterback competition — at least in practice if not in spirit — between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, there is not one this time.

While Rodgers, wearing a white jersey with the No. 8 on it and a towel unfurled over the front of his black shorts, mostly stood and watched while Mason Rudolph, rookie Will Howard and Skyler Thompson took the reps there is no mystery about who will work with the starters when Pittsburgh arrives for training camp at Saint Vincent College in late July.

The last few groups of quarterbacks, from Wilson and Fields to Rudolph (during his first stint) to Mitch Trubisky to Kenny Pickett, never missed a practice or an OTA. They are also not Rodgers.

“I trust that whatever issues or learning curve things that he needs to get through will be handled during the down period of the summer for sure,” Tomlin said.

Vikings extend TE Oliver >> The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension with tight end Josh Oliver, enhancing their commitment to a key part of their running game.

Oliver had career highs last season with 258 receiving yards and three touchdowns while expanding his involvement in the passing attack along with his role as a run blocker.

Broncos sign RB Dobbins >> The Denver Broncos beefed up their offensive backfield, agreeing with free agent running back J.K. Dobbins on a one-year deal worth up to $5.25 million.

A 2020 second-round pick by Baltimore, Dobbins has an extensive injury history, including an ACL tear in 2021 and a torn Achilles tendon in 2023, but he’s been productive when healthy.

He gained a career-best 905 yards on 195 carries and tied his career high with nine rushing touchdowns last year with the Los Angeles Chargers despite missing four games with a sprained knee.

Minicamp updates >> Defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson was not at the opening day of the Cincinnati Bengals minicamp as he seeks a new contract.

Hendrickson is expected to be fined for his absence. Hendrickson was an All-Pro selection last season after he led the league with 17 1/2 sacks.

• Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins reported for the first day of Falcons minicamp.

Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed in March 2024, was benched after Week 14 last season and lost his starting job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. Cousins threw for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. There was offseason speculation that Cousins was looking for a starting job with a new team.

• Aaron Rodgers might be ready to take the practice field for the Pittsburgh Steelers. T.J. Watt is not.

The star outside linebacker skipped the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. Watt likely is eyeing a new deal as he enters the final year of his current contract.

The seven-time Pro Bowler and 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year’s decision to skip minicamp is a change from Watt’s approach in 2021, when he did a “hold in” during both minicamp and training camp before agreeing to a contract on the eve of the regular season.

• Terry McLaurin is not at Washington Commanders mandatory minicamp as the team’s top wide receiver looks for a new contract.

McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, is only signed through the next NFL season.

• Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence wore a protective sleeve on his throwing arm during the start of a three-day, mandatory minicamp because of “general soreness.”

Lawrence took all the repetitions with the first-team offense and looked sharp at times. He also wore the sleeve last Thursday for the final practice of organized team activities.

Lawrence has missed eight games over the past two seasons, including seven in 2024.