There’s always been plenty of chatter about Aaron Rodgers and his quirky personality. This past offseason, he grabbed headlines for being super picky about where he’d sign. On top of that, speculation swirled that Rodgers had fallen out of sync with his last two teams, so wherever he landed, the assumption was he wouldn’t exactly be a great fit. Well, fast forward to now, Rodgers has a new home, and one of his teammates has some thoughts on how their QB is doing.
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First, let’s look back at the disconnect Rodgers had with his previous teams. With the Green Bay Packers, it was all about communication issues. The front office never drafted the QB a wide receiver in the first round, yet they used that same first-round pick on his eventual successor, Jordan Love.
Then came the New York Jets. A regime change left Rodgers on the outside looking in, and he felt disrespected when they made it clear they were ready to move on. So, what did he do? In Week 1, he lit them up for four touchdowns, getting his revenge and looking like the Rodgers of old.
And according to the Steelers’ team captain, Cam Heyward, Rodgers has already earned everyone’s respect by the way he prepares. Because of this, he’s fitting right in and fully in sync with the team.
“I’ve really enjoyed watching him the way he prepares, the way he challenges guys, and then he challenges himself. There’s no lack of accountability there,” Heyward revealed on The Rich Eisen Show.
“When you look at that side of the ball, having that all the way through, I can respect that. Every one of our teammates can respect that. It breeds competition,” added the defensive tackle.
It sounds like Rodgers is doing quite well, contrary to what many claimed in the offseason. Fans of the team must be excited, too, because a healthy and motivated version of him is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. It’s been easy to forget amid the rough play in recent seasons, but Rodgers has four MVPs and a Super Bowl ring. Some even say he’s the most accurate passer of all time.
However, one week is just one week. While Rodgers and the Steelers had a gritty victory to start the season, they need to keep the momentum going. After all, things can change quickly in the NFL, and Week 1 overreactions are always funny to look back on at the end of the season.
All of this is to say that Pittsburgh could and probably will be a much different team by Week 18. Only time will tell if they’re a legitimate contender.
On paper, Rodgers and the Steelers should be a threat to win the Lombardi Trophy. And if he’s going to keep having multi-touchdown games with no turnovers, they very well could be. But there’s still so much that the team will have to navigate in the coming months. Stay tuned to see how it all works out. Now, they set their sights on the Seattle Seahawks for their home opener.
