In the Steelers’ consideration of signing QB Aaron Rodgers, play on the field is only one aspect of the evaluation. One must also give serious thought to what presence they are bringing into the locker room, and the broader mediasphere. He enjoys his social platforms, for example, on the Pat McAfee Show, and largely resents traditional media.
Yet, on the whole, it didn’t seem that he had too tumultuous a time in the locker room while with the New York Jets. He might have had an occasional disagreement—like with Mike Williams—but his teammates supported him. So says former Jets (and Steelers) OL Willie Colon, who is also a native New Yorker. Even if the Jets play in New Jersey, of course, but I digress…
“When Aaron [Rodgers] got to New York City, there was a lot of talk about, ‘How is the old man gonna relate or jell with the young guys?’. By all accounts, the Sauce Gardners, the Quentin Williamses, the young generation, this young core of the New York Jets, they loved him”, Colon said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “When you saw him on the sideline, when you saw him in pre-game, he was doing the handshakes, doing the chest bumps, doing the dances. He was cemented in really trying to build a bridge with those young guys. He did a great job with it”.
“I don’t think there’s gonna be an issue with him jelling or getting along with the young guys, or even chilling with that locker room”, he added, referring to Aaron Rodgers’ possible fit with the Steelers. “It’s just a matter of, can he produce on the field and can he produce at a high level?”.
Of course, that’s a legitimate question. Rodgers led the Jets to a 5-12 record, and the Steelers went 10-7 last year. Clearly, though, this would be a better situation for him, and one he should want. He finished the season going 368-for-584 for 3,897 yards with 28 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. His numbers did improve, however. After losing to the Steelers, Rodgers had an 18-for-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the final 10 games. He completed 64 percent of his passes and averaged 223 yards per game with a 97.0 quarterback rating.
Those numbers from Rodgers do look better than what Russell Wilson did in 11 games with the Steelers. He posted a 16-to-five touchdown-to-interception ratio, completing 63.7 percent of his passes, with roughly the same per-game yardage. Wilson was more efficient, however, largely due to more a more vertical approach.
Wilson also benefited from fewer drops and other non-quarterback miscues. While he posted a better season-long bad-throw percentage for the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers did clean that up throughout the year. Of his 98 “bad throws”, 48 came in the first seven games. He had 49 over the final 10, for a 14.9-percent bad-throw rate, compared to Wilson’s 16.8. Over a full season, that would have ranked 15th, even if that’s still not great.
One can hope that Willie Colon is right even if he said Rodgers might push Arthur Smith around. It is, rather, that the bigger question for the Steelers with Aaron Rodgers is on the field, not off it. Playing well is a bare minimum requirement of a successful stint here. If he fails to do that, and causes problems beyond that, the next year could be something of a disaster. Assuming he wants to be here, of course, and decides to sign.
