Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers will be turning 42 years old in December. And he suffered a season-ending Achilles’ injury in 2023. So, it would be natural for people to question just how mobile Rodgers can be in 2025. Even if that means people analyzing every frame of training camp clips like it’s the Zapruder film.
Sure, Rodgers may not look like former Steelers QB Justin Fields. But it doesn’t mean he’s an immobile statue back in the pocket. And Steelers.com editor Bob Labriola thinks that Rodgers might be more mobile than most people think.
“He’s not going to scramble for any kind of yardage or anything, I don’t think,” Labriola said Tuesday on 102.5 WDVE. “I don’t think he’s going to be Ben Roethlisberger shrugging off pass rushers who have hands on him. But, I mean, he can buy a little time in the pocket. He’s still nimble. And he creates throwing lanes for himself. He creates throwing lanes for himself a lot better than Russell Wilson last year.”
At one point, Aaron Rodgers had the mobility to avoid pass rushers in the pocket and keep plays alive enough to hit plays down the field. Now, he did it differently than Ben Roethlisberger, whose size allowed him to shrug off pass rushers, like Labriola said. But Rodgers had the athletic ability to make guys miss in the pocket.
Rodgers may not be that mobile anymore, but what caught Labriola’s eye is that Rodgers can manipulate the pocket enough to create throwing lanes to find his targets. And he’s doing that better than Russell Wilson did in his 11 regular-season games last year.
Defenses sacked Wilson three times a game on average. But more than that, Wilson’s completion percentage dropped nearly 20 points when he was pressured versus when he was kept clean (83.7 to 64.7). And he held the ball 3.6 seconds on average when pressured.
If Aaron Rodgers looks like he can manipulate the pocket better than Russell Wilson did last year, that’s a good thing. That could mean fewer sacks and a better completion percentage even under pressure. And the Steelers need that, considering OT Broderick Jones needs a big year at left tackle.
The other important part? Aaron Rodgers’ arm still looks great. Former Steelers S Ryan Clark faced off against Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. And when Clark attended Steelers camp on Tuesday, what he saw out of Rodgers’ arm reminded him of that matchup.
If Aaron Rodgers can create his own passing lanes and throw the ball like it’s 2011, he can still be dangerous for the Steelers. That’s quite a good thing. Hopefully, that will mean no five-game losing streak like the Steelers suffered to end 2024 with Russell Wilson at the helm. Even if he can’t shrug off pass rushers like the last Steelers’ franchise quarterback, or run for big yards like Justin Fields.
