Steelers Now
Depending on the outcome, Sunday night’s winner-take-all Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens could be Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ last outing of his Hall of Fame career.
Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show in June that he was pretty sure this would be his last year. It’s unclear if that stance has changed for the 42-year-old quarterback.
If Sunday night ends up being the last chapter, Ravens All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey would like to make Rodgers’ final career memory a negative one.
“That first game we were like, ‘He done turned the clock back,’” Humphrey said, via the team’s website. “He hadn’t been that spot on, but he threw some great passes. He really etched himself into the rivalry well. We have to match that tempo. He’s going to come out there and give his guys great opportunities to get the ball and put it in places where it’s very hard to defend. It doesn’t matter who you’re guarding, who’s out there, you’ve got to be on your p’s and q’s. Great player, but we would definitely like to have his last memory be a negative one.”
Rodgers has not decided yet on whether he wants to retire following this season.
“Listen,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “I’m thinking about this week. But obviously I’m 42 years old and I’m on a one-year deal. So you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. Maybe not a lot of options, but there’ll be options I would think. Maybe one or two if I decide I still want to play.”
When Rodgers arrived with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers during the summer, the indication was that this would be his final stop on the way to Canton. One more season, he said, to remember why he loved the sport so much. Now, though, he’s hoping he can remain healthy for what could be ahead.
“I hope I can get through this stretch and feel good physically so that’s not in the conversation,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers said he’s played how he would’ve liked at times this season, but there’s a major factor that’s played in.
“Any time you’re in a first-year offense, there’s always some growing pains within the offense,” Rodgers said. “It’s always like you feel like if you had another year, what you could do. … I used to tease (Green Bay Packers head coach Matt) LeFleur about this all the time. I was a game manager in 2019 and a game impactor in 2020 and 2021. I think a lot of that is just familiarity with the offense and with the guys.
“The more years you get in a system with the same guys, the more continuity you have (and) the better you feel like you can play.”
Tomlin hasn’t thought a lot about it possibly being Rodgers’ last game, but he’s just appreciative of the time...
