Aaron Rodgers is the newest starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but there are a lot of questions as to how he’ll actually play in 2025. For one, he’s 41 years old, and will turn 42 during the season. He’s also nearly two years removed from a devastating Achilles injury.
Despite that, former Pittsburgh Steelers’ great Rod Woodson is expecting him to look better.
“Aaron Rodgers is just so naturally gifted,” Woodson said on Up and Adams on Wednesday. “He was able to throw the football, even when he couldn’t run. So now you’re two years removed from the injury… He is going to be a better player. He’s not going to be worried about his Achilles, he’s gonna go play, and he played on it already… Just say he’s 70 percent of what he used to be. Well heck, that’s better than 95 percent of all the quarterbacks in the National Football League.”
Whether you’re an athlete or not, if you’ve ever suffered a major injury before, you know how uncomfortable it can be when you get back into some of your old habits fresh off recovery. And an Achilles injury is certainly a major one. It can take players longer than a year to recover, but Aaron Rodgers managed to make it back onto the field to kick off the 2024 season roughly a year after suffering his four snaps into the 2023 season.
For the first half of the season, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was an aging quarterback coming off a big injury. The Jets did win two of their first three games, but that winning record didn’t last long, and neither did their playoff hopes.
However, Rodgers quietly began to play his best football as the season wound to an end. During New York’s final five games, Rodgers threw for more than 250 yards four times. He also threw nine touchdowns and just three interceptions during that stretch.
However, even just from the eye test, Rodgers seemed to be more comfortable moving around.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t getting any younger, so the Steelers shouldn’t be expecting much athleticism from the position. However, he will be two years removed from the injury at the start of the regular season. Then, he’ll play the Jets in the same building the injury happened. For Rodgers, he’ll hope to exercise some demons that day.
The Steelers hope it will be the start to a season that may feature the best quarterback play the franchise has seen in years.
