Aaron Rodgers did the Pittsburgh Steelers a favor when he agreed to a team-friendly contract to join the club. That said, Rodgers only put pen to paper on that deal in time to participate in some mandatory minicamp drills after he spent the bulk of the offseason program as a free-agent quarterback.
For an article published on Monday, Steelers reporter Mike DeFabo of The Athletic warned Pittsburgh fans about having any strong reactions to how Rodgers did and/or didn’t look during his first practices with his new employer.
“Anyone who has an opinion on how Aaron Rodgers looked in the Steelers’ offense this offseason (good or bad) either has an agenda or is completely making things up,” DeFabo wrote. “The four-time NFL MVP missed the first two weeks of (organized team activities) and then signed his one-year contract just ahead of minicamp. During the three practices Rodgers attended, he was a very limited participant. He threw to receivers only during the routes-on-air segments, flashing his trademark quick release. The 41-year-old QB was also relatively mobile during individual drills, at least for an athlete of his age. However, that’s just about all Rodgers did.”
Questions about what Rodgers may or may not have left in the tank exist for reasons that go beyond the fact that he’ll turn 42 years old this coming December. He dealt with a broken thumb on his throwing hand before he went down with a rib injury in Week 12 of the 2022 season while with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers then famously suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into his regular-season debut with the New York Jets in September 2023. More recently, multiple physical setbacks slowed the future Hall of Famer last fall.
Pro Football Reference shows that Rodgers finished the 2024 season tied for seventh in the NFL with 28 passing touchdowns and eighth with 3,897 yards through the air. However, he was also 28th among qualified players with a 48.0 adjusted QBR. Per ESPN stats, the 2024 Jets were 24th in offensive yards per game (310.3) and tied for 24th in points scored per contest (19.9) with Rodgers in the lineup.
Some continue to openly question how Rodgers will get along with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith after Smith allegedly did not want Russell Wilson changing plays at the line of scrimmage “and deviating from the game plan” last season. It seems like Rodgers and Smith will soon discuss what the veteran will and won’t do on the field before he snaps the football this coming fall.
“Rodgers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith plan to spend time this offseason finding middle ground between the pass-happy QB (who attempted the second-most passes in the league last year) and the run-heavy offensive coordinator (who called the fourth-most running plays in 2024),” DeFabo added.
History suggests Rodgers will look like a more-than-capable QB1 while wearing shorts during training camp sessions. Assuming that will be the case, Steelers fans may want to prevent themselves from getting too excited about what Rodgers will give the AFC North club during what could be a one-season journey with Pittsburgh.
