Arriving on a new team can be a daunting task. You have to find a way to assimilate yourself into the group while also maintaining the individuality that makes you a great player. Some guys have to deal with something even more impactful when they arrive in a new town: their reputation. And no one in the NFL has got a reputation quite like Aaron Rodgers.
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With his often contrarian views and conspiratorial beliefs, he cuts a divisive figure. And when he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers back in June, there was definitely a level of uncertainty among the roster before they actually met the guy. Thankfully, he has fit right in by doing the simplest thing an athlete can do: talk smack.
Nick Herbig, a player drafted in the fourth round in 2023 who has really grown in stature within the team over the last couple of years, has apparently been his most consistent sparring partner right from the second they first met.
“A-Rod’s awesome. I mean, dude, the first night, I don’t even know this guy, the first night I meet him at Cam’s house, he’s talking crazy sh*t to me. And I’m like, I’m not gonna not talk shit back. I’m a little brother, I’ve been talking sh*t my whole life. So I’m gonna talk sh*t. So there’s a lot of sh*t talking going on. (Laughs) But it’s all love.”
The pass rusher is a whole 18 years younger than Rodgers, but that didn’t stop the QB from coming right for his neck—in a trash-talking sense—at that first meeting. While Rodgers came for Herbig’s lack of variety in his pass-rushing moves, Herbig went to old reliable and busted out the discount double check belt celebration that Rodgers is so well-known for.
“This dude called me a one-trick pony! What did you want me to say? (Laughs) He said, ‘You’re a one-trick pony, all you do is speed rush.’ And I’m like, ‘Discount double check (as he mimics Rodgers’ discount double check belt celebration). (Laughs) A-Rod’s awesome though, I love that guy.”
Earlier in the offseason, when Rodgers had just recently signed, Herbig was one of the most vocally supportive. While he didn’t want to throw shade at the rest of Pittsburgh’s QB stable, he admitted that having Rodgers in the building, “does feel a little different.”
“Obviously, I love Mason [Rudolph], Will [Howard], and Skylar [Thompson], but it’s just, you know, it’s Aaron Rodgers. Like he a four-time MVP, he’s won a Super Bowl, he’s done it all at the highest level. He’s seen the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. Just having a guy like that with his experience and knowledge and being able to pass that along, even though like I’m not a quarterback. Just having a guy like that around the team is awesome.”
There’s no doubt Aaron Rodgers has an aura, but Pittsburgh hasn’t had a chance to see it in action just yet. The little we gathered from training camp was not exactly encouraging regarding Rodgers and the offense. And the 41-year-old is past the point in his career where he’s going to bother with preseason reps.
So the first chance Rodgers will get to impress Steeler Nation will be in Week 1, when he returns to New York to take on the Jets fresh off two disappointing seasons with Gang Green.
Funny enough, while the Steelers signed New York’s 2024 QB, the Jets signed Pittsburgh’s 2024 QB, Justin Fields. The pair will look to prove they made the right choice in swapping teams right out of the gate.
