Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast that he sent a strong message to the offensive line at the early portion of training camp after fourth-string quarterback Skylar Thompson got knocked down.
“And one thing, one really important moment, Skylar got knocked down early in camp. And I walked out there like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ I looked back and nobody was walking out there. And I told the line, ‘Don’t you ever let that happen again,’” Rodgers said.
“I said, ‘We gotta protect each other. And you guys are the policemen out there on the field. You’re the big brothers out there. You protect everybody from DK [Metcalf] to me to whoever’s in there (at) quarterback or whoever’s in there (at) running back. I don’t care if it’s preseason practice, whatever. You gotta protect them.”
Rodgers said the message registered with the offensive line and it did not happen again.
“The next time something happened about a week later, Zach [Frazier] was in there. Pat [Freiermuth] was in there,” Rodgers said. “If Zach’s in there, you know Mason [McCormick’s] in there. And then I saw Troy [Fautanu] going in there. And then Spencer [Anderson]. I was like, ‘That’s what it looks like.’ And I’m not talking about instigating fights. I’m just talking about backing your brothers up.”
Rodgers having to address the offensive line raised former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex’s eyebrows. He’s surprised that offensive line coach Pat Meyer allowed stuff like this to occur.
“I just read that A Rod had to reprimend the OL to go help Skylar up. If that’s the case, I’m side eyeing the hell out of Meyer,” Essex wrote on X. ‘This shit has been driving me crazy the last few years. OL not running down to help the RB after a hard run. Not helping the QB up after a sack. That tells me you are only concerned about your job and you aren’t in tune with what the essence of what being HOG truly is! And that is an environment and expectation set by the OL coach. Glad #8 brought attention to it before the season started.”
Meyer received a lot of heat from the fanbase and media last year. His first three years as the team’s offensive line coach has been a mixed bag. His contract runs out after this season, so if the O-line fails to develop, this season very well could be his last.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers OL Calls Out Pat Meyer
