Aaron Rodgers knows there’s a code. The offensive line literally and figuratively protects the quarterback. Anytime he gets knocked down, especially in a training camp setting where that’s supposed to be off limits, the front five better pick him up and let the offender know that’s not kosher. Rodgers shared that message to a young Steelers offensive line early in training camp.
“And one thing, one really important moment, [QB Skylar Thompson] got knocked down early in camp,” Rodgers said on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast recorded during training camp and airing Tuesday. “And I walked out there like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ I looked back and nobody was walking out there. And I told the line, ‘Don’t you ever let that happen again.'”
“I said, ‘We gotta protect each other. And you guys are the policemen out there on the field. You’re the big brothers out there. You protect everybody from DK [Metcalf] to me to whoever’s in there quarterback or whoever’s in there running back. I don’t care if it’s pre-season practice, whatever. You gotta protect them.'”
It’s rare for quarterbacks to hit the deck in camp but it’s one of the most egregious things a defense can do. When LB Elandon Roberts nailed QB Justin Fields during a practice last year, a massive scrum broke out. Rodgers isn’t asking for fisticuffs but a message that getting a piece of the passer is a no-go.
His story is similar to 2021 when a young and new Steelers offensive line forgot to help QB Ben Roethlisberger up in a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the group later apologizing and vowing to not let it happen again. This young group populated by second- and third-year players is learning the same.
Rodgers noted his message was quickly received.
“The next time something happened about a week later, Zach was in there, Pat was in there,” he said. “If Zach’s in there, you know Mason’s in there. And then I saw Troy going in there. And then Spencer. I was like, ‘That’s what it looks like.’ And I’m not talking about instigating fights. I’m just talking about backing your brothers up.”
Rodgers didn’t detail the circumstances of the incident, but he might’ve been referring to DL Esezi Otomewo clotheslining rookie RB Kaleb Johnson during a non-tackling portion of practice. That led to an intense scrum where several players from the Steelers’ offense, even ones like Pat Freiermuth who were sidelined for the play, sticking up for Johnson.
That’s the intangible quality Rodgers offers. He’ll rightfully be judged by big-picture results, but even if the season isn’t a success, those nuggets a veteran like Rodgers provides will stick with the group long after his chapter in Pittsburgh is written.
