One of the big keys to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 season was keeping Aaron Rodgers upright and healthy. It was a rough start to the season in that regard. Rodgers’ nearly-42-year-old body is feeling the impact through the first four games.
He was asked about his bye week plans after the game.
“I’m going to get myself healthy,” Rodgers said on NFL GameDay Final with Pam Oliver after the game. “I’m gonna do some body work. I’m gonna relax a little bit.”
Rodgers told the Pittsburgh media after Week 1 that he played through some back tightness that prevented him from moving to his full potential. And he was flexing his hand a bit after a play in Week 3 when his hand hit a helmet on a pass follow-through. None of these things appear on the injury report because they aren’t actual injuries, but they are bumps and bruises associated with playing football. They add up, especially at his age.
He has proven that he’s not fragile with nine sacks and 21 QB hits taken through four games, but those hits accumulate. Given that he converted a 3rd-and-9 with an 11-yard scramble, I’d say he’s moving around just fine.
While he was still working his way back to 100 percent from his 2023 Achilles tear last season, Rodgers dealt with numerous other injuries. Jay Glazer reported a “moderate hamstring strain” and a “knee sprain” with some potential overlap. Rodgers doesn’t seem to be dealing with anything of that magnitude so far, but there have been enough bumps and bruises that he mentioned getting healthy during the bye week.
The bye week always seems to come at the right time, and that’s the case once again for the Steelers this year. Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr., and Jalen Ramsey could use the extra time to return to full health.
“It’s one of those weird early byes,” Rodgers said. “But I think it’s coming at a good time for us to get guys like Jaylen [Warren] back. Guys like Joey [Porter Jr.] back. And we got a division game coming out of it, so we’re gonna enjoy this time. It’s a long flight. Feels a whole lot better after a win.”
The first quarter of the 2025 schedule wasn’t pretty, but the Steelers are 3-1 entering the bye week. And they have a chance to be very healthy coming out of it. You can’t ask for much more than that.
