Going back to New York is 'just another game' for Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers

ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep 3, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers might have escaped New York, but seven months after his release by the Jets, he still can’t escape the back pages of the New York tabloids.

There he was Wednesday morning on the back page of the New York Daily News after new Jets coach Aaron Glenn sidestepped questions about his decision to release Rodgers. The headline: He Who Must Not Be Named.

The Rodgers-Glenn marriage was a short one. Glenn was hired in January, and Rodgers was released in March. The first time they met in person, Glenn fired him.

When asked after Wednesday’s practice about his feelings going back to New York to face his old team, Rodgers simply said, “It’s Week 1.”

There is more to it, of course. Rodgers let his true feelings about his meeting with Glenn be known when he appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” in April, saying Glenn did not show him “ample respect.”

Whatever his true feelings are, Rodgers isn’t letting on to teammates that the game has any extra meaning.

“He makes it seem like it’s just another game,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “I think that’s cool for us being able to put it in our minds that it’s just another game. Obviously we want to win it for him, but I don’t think he’s living off that we’re going back to his old stomping grounds. I think he’s just ready to compete and play.”

Rodgers’ unsuccessful two-year stint in New York is a big part of the reason why Rodgers is still playing at 41. He’s accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the game. He’s won a Super Bowl. He’s a four-time NFL MVP. Five years after he retires, he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Going out after a 5-12 season and then being being released was never going to be his NFL swan song.

“I don’t think his former team has anything to do with it,” receiver DK Metcalf said. “I think he just loves the game of football and he’s ready to go out there and put a product on the field. I know he kind of has a bad taste in his mouth from the previous years, but he just wants to go out there and win as many games as he can.”

Rodgers spent the first 17 years of his career in Green Bay before he was traded to the Jets to make way for Jordan Love. Rodgers only played a few snaps in the 2023 season opener before tearing his Achilles. He came back from the injury to start all 17 games last season, but there was an in-season coaching change. From there, chaos reigned only as it can in the Big Apple when something like that happens.

With the Steelers, Rodgers is in a more structured environment with an established coach and other veteran players surrounding him. The Steelers believe they have a roster that can compete in a rugged AFC.

Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium will be the first time Rodgers and Metcalf have played for the Steelers. They sat out all three preseason games. Other established veterans like Freiermuth and running back Jaylen Warren only played a couple of series in the final preseason game.

While many critics on the outside are questioning whether the Steelers can become an offense to be reckoned with again, there is a quiet confidence in the locker room that this season will be different.

“We have so many different guys who can do different things,” Rodgers said. “There are little guys who can run around and make plays inside and outside. You have four capable tight ends and you have three capable backs.

“You have a really freaking smart center. We have some smart players right down the middle of the offense. That’s what all the West Coast coaches always talk about — having a smart center, a smart quarterback. We have the right guys down the middle and guys who can do a lot of things.”

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