Aaron Rodgers’ most notable injury in recent years was a torn Achilles to start the 2023 season. Despite that, he played in every game last season. However, there were reports that Rodgers was dealing with several different injuries last year. NFL insider Adam Caplan recently went into detail about that, praising Rodgers for playing through those issues but wondering how he’ll hold up with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I give the guy credit for not missing a game last season,” Caplan said Wednesday on Sportsnaut’s YouTube channel. “He had, in my reporting, I think a moderate hamstring strain and knee sprain. I know there was some overlap with both injuries.
“I don’t know how he did it, I give the guy credit. He was beat up physically; he did the best that he could. He turns 42 in December. That does concern me. Does he have something left? Yes, he showed he had something left, but you worry about the body breaking down.”
Rodgers spent time on the New York Jets’ injury report last year due to knee and hamstring injuries, so those were no secret. However, the seriousness of those issues was less clear. In December, FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer reported that Rodgers’ injuries were more severe than people realized, saying he was dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, an MCL sprain, and a high-ankle sprain.
For a 40-year-old quarterback, that’s a lot to deal with. It’s impressive that Rodgers did not miss a game last year despite being banged up. While there have been questions this offseason about how committed Rodgers is to football, fighting through injuries supports the idea that he was giving his all to the game.
After missing almost all of the 2023 season, it’s no surprise that Rodgers would want to battle through injuries. However, it’s still not clear if Glazer’s reporting was correct. After hearing about those comments, Rodgers seemed to push back on what the insider was saying.
“Jay [Glazer] did that?” Rodgers asked last year via the Jets’ YouTube channel. “Where’s he getting his information? How do you know it’s a Grade 2 if there was never an MRI? There was a hamstring at one point, there was a knee at one point.
“I think you all saw the ankle in London. I don’t know what the grades were of them. Jay came in and gave a great speech this training camp. Other than that, he doesn’t know shit about my body.”
Rodgers confirmed that he was dealing with injuries to those areas, but he clearly took issue with Glazer talking about their seriousness. Caplan doesn’t dive too far into the details, but like Glazer, he’s impressed that Rodgers was able to play through that pain.
That could be a good and bad thing for the Steelers. It shows that Rodgers isn’t going to wilt at the first sign of pain. While the exact timeline of those injuries is unclear, Rodgers’ play got better as the year went on. If those issues negatively impacted him throughout the entire season, he didn’t let it show.
However, hearing that Rodgers added more wear and tear to his body isn’t great news for the Steelers. He’s now 41, and the list of quarterbacks who have been successful at that age is short. Most of the time, their bodies begin to break down, and they look like shadows of their former selves.
That could happen to Rodgers. Protecting him should be one of the Steelers’ top priorities. That’s going to be a big task for their relatively young offensive line. Thankfully, that unit has a lot of talent. It should be poised to take strides forward.
Rodgers playing through pain is admirable, but the Steelers shouldn’t test to see if he can do that again. Obviously, injuries happen in football. Rodgers is going to deal with bumps and bruises. However, the Steelers will likely go as far as he can take him. Keeping Rodgers as healthy as he can be is going to be crucial for Pittsburgh.
