There will be scores of familiar faces when Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers play Justin Fields and the New York Jets in Week 1 of the 2025 season. Having worked with Rodgers the last two seasons in New York as his teammate, Jets CB Sauce Gardner knows going up against Rodgers will be no cakewalk. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Gardner was effusive in his praise for his former teammate.
“It’s gonna be crazy. There’s gonna be a lot of emotions in that game, I don’t care what people say about him. He’s a phenomenal person,” Gardner said. “We got on the field, there’s so much that he’s taught me as a player. Me playing cornerback, I’m not thinking a quarterback can help me,” Gardner said.
He called Rodgers a “wizard” and said playing against him has motivated him to work on his game.
“I’m looking forward to it, because he might think he know all the tendencies that I have, but this offseason has really been me trying not to give nothing away, I’ve been trying to work on literally everything, because I already know I’m about to go against a wizard Week One,” Gardner said.
Talking about his process for watching film, Gardner explained some of the wizardry he referenced from Rodgers in discussing how hard he is to prepare for.
“Watching the Steelers or somebody like Aaron, I can’t really study Aaron, for real. Because he will show you the same exact tendency and do something totally different. So in terms of the Steelers, I would preferably study their OC, study the receivers, study the tight ends and stuff like that. Because you can’t really get a beat on Aaron like that. And that goes all the way back to when we played the Packers.”
There’s something to be said for experience, and no quarterback in the league right now is as experienced as Rodgers, who is entering his 21st season in the NFL. Having played so much football and at an extremely high level with his football IQ can make him such a dangerous quarterback, even at his advanced age. Rodgers’ ability to confuse the defense and not let them read him is one of the assets that can help him lead the Steelers on a run this season.
Despite having to face Rodgers and a revamped Steelers secondary that he praised, Gardner is excited to face the new-look Steelers.
“Mike T, he definitely been cooking up, but I’m looking forward to the challenge because I always like challenges, but I know it’s gonna be a good game.”
Gardner is also one of many Rodgers’ teammates who praised him as a person and a player. Last week, Jets RB Breece Hall called Rodgers a “very misunderstood” person and a “great dude.” While Rodgers may get a bad rap, nothing he’s shown with the Steelers would imply that he’s remotely a bad teammate, and his former teammates have been quick to come to his defense and shout out him as a person.
Rodgers’ ability as a mentor will also be huge in Pittsburgh. Gardner said that even as a cornerback, Rodgers was able to help him out, and we already know Rodgers has helped out rookie QB Will Howard. Beyond Howard, Rodgers can help out his teammates on all sides of the ball with his expertise and be the leader that the Steelers expect him to be.
Even with the Steelers, Rodgers already seems to be making a good impression on his new teammates, playing basketball and throwing alley-oops to Ben Skowronek in Malibu.
If Rodgers is going to be able to command the locker room in Pittsburgh and have the respect of his teammates shouldn’t be in question. And his play on the field should be the best the Steelers have had in a long time. Gardner is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, and for him to come out and say he simply can’t get a read on Rodgers says a lot that the quarterback can still play at a high level.
The Steelers-Jets Week 1 matchup is going to be the biggest game on the opening slate. While Aaron Rodgers has had a big hand in helping out Gardner and his former Jets teammates, on September 7 his only focus is going to be on beating them.
