Aaron Rodgers has been in the NFL for 20 years. As a result, he’s seen and done a lot. However, he’s new to the Pittsburgh Steelers, so that leaves a lot for him to learn. While Rodgers has been getting better as training camp goes on, he’s still working on building chemistry with the Steelers offense.
There was some speculation that Rodgers could play in the Steelers’ first preseason game this week. However, Rodgers doesn’t think it’s in the cards for him to suit up for the Steelers’ preseason opener.
“I don’t think it’s in the plan for me to play this week, but whatever Mike [Tomlin] wants to do, I’m fully on board,” Rodgers said Wednesday via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s YouTube channel. “If he wants me to go out there and play, I’ll play. If not, then I won’t.”
While that doesn’t totally rule Rodgers out for Pittsburgh’s first preseason game, it sounds unlikely that he’ll step on the field. And that makes some sense. At 41 years old, there’s no reason to risk Rodgers’ health in the preseason yet. He joined the Steelers late in the offseason, so he’s still working on feeling comfortable with them.
Perhaps Tomlin will opt to have Rodgers play a little bit depending on how the Steelers offense looks in practice this week. Rodgers put together one of his best days so far on Tuesday. He was rifling the ball all over the field, exhibiting great arm strength.
After a few underwhelming practices, that was an encouraging sign. If Rodgers and company continue to string together some solid practices, Tomlin might feel more comfortable not putting his entire starting offense on the field this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Even if Rodgers suits up, he’d probably only play for one drive. The Steelers likely aren’t going to have him work extensively in the preseason. Rodgers doesn’t seem much benefit to that, anyway.
“I’ve said a lot, preseason football is not necessarily real football. Because the defenses don’t do a whole lot, and the offenses don’t, either. So, you go out there with a very limited playbook against the defenses playing one-high zone, one-high man, or two-high zone.
“And there’s not much pressure. There’s oftentimes communication between the coaches about, ‘We’re not gonna pressure this week.’ Or, ‘We need to see a little bit of pressure.’ It’s really about the operation.”
Based on those comments, if it’s up to Rodgers, he probably wouldn’t play in the preseason. Perhaps Tomlin will feel differently, though. With two other preseason games remaining, even if Rodgers doesn’t play this week, he’ll still have opportunities to get actual reps in with the Steelers.
However, Rodgers also stated that he thinks that the Steelers’ joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can be more helpful than playing in the preseason.
“Most of the joint practices, you’re not gonna play that team in the regular season. So, they’re less worried about showing things that they wanna work on.
“And even though there usually are cameras there and it’s filmed, they’re less skittish about running the stuff they’ve been running all camp that they’re gonna try and do in the regular season against another team. So, I’ve found those beneficial.”
Practicing with the Buccaneers could be a nice substitute for the preseason. It will allow Tomlin to get a look at Rodgers and the Steelers offense against an actual opponent. Also, like Rodgers says, the Steelers aren’t scheduled to face the Buccaneers this year. Therefore, they shouldn’t be afraid to run actual concepts against the Steelers.
That could influence Tomlin’s decision on Rodgers’ playtime in the preseason. At the moment, though, fans might have to wait a little longer to see Rodgers actually play in a game for the Steelers. That’s if he plays in the preseason at all, which seems uncertain. Rodgers might not get on the field for a real game until the regular season begins.
