Steelers Now
UNITY TWP., Pa. — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he doesn’t think he’s going to play in this week’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he’s not sure if he’ll play in the preseason at all.
Speaking with the media before training camp practice at St. Vincent College on Wednesday, Rodgers said he’ll talk to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin about a plan for the rest of the preseason, and he’s fine with playing or not playing, whichever way his head coach wants him to go.
“That’s an interesting conversation Mike and I will have at some point,” Rodgers said. “I don’t think it’s in the plan for me to play this week. Whatever Mike wants to do, I’m fully on board. He wants me to go out there and play, I’ll play. If not, then I won’t.”
Rodgers did not play in the preseason with the New York Jets last year. He played in 10 snaps with the Jets in 2023. Before that, his last preseason action was six snaps with the Green Bay Packers in 2018.
While Rodgers said that he is fine with whatever Tomlin decides, he doesn’t personally see a lot of value in preseason football.
“With all due respect (then I can say whatever I want), preseason football is not necessarily real football, because the defenses just don’t do a lot,” he said. “The offenses don’t ether. So you go out there with a very limited playbook against a defense that’s playing one-high zone, one-high man, two-high zone. There’s not much pressure. Oftentimes, there’s communication between the coaches about “hey, we’re not going to pressure this week,” or maybe you’ll see a little pressure.”
The one area that Rodgers did say can be beneficial from a preseason standpoint is just operating the offense with a play clock, stadium radios, crowd noise, a full officiating crew and the like.
“It’s really about the operation,” he said. “If you can actually gain something from the preseason, it’s that you have 40 seconds. We have a clock out here, but it’s not always cued to it. You have 40 seconds. You call the play, get to the line of scrimmage, get us in the right situation, go out and do it.”
Rodgers also feels that joint practices, like the one the Steelers have scheduled for next Thursday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are a better tool for getting ready for the season.
“[Teams are] less worried about showing things,” Rodgers said. “And even though there are usually cameras there, it’s filmed, they’re less skittish about running stuff they’ve been running all camp, and they’re trying to do in the regular season against another team they’re not going to play in the regular season.
“I find it real beneficial. As long as there’s no fights, they’re a good work day.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Aaron Rodgers Not Expected to Play in Steelers Preseason Opener
