The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the 2025 campaign against the New York Jets. The game was ironically between two teams who’d swapped quarterbacks this offseason, with former Jet Aaron Rodgers starting for Pittsburgh, and former Steeler Justin Fields taking the ball for New York.
Rodgers and the Steelers got the last laugh, winning the game 34-32. However, Pittsburgh’s offense, and offensive line in particular, struggled at times, but now Aaron Rodgers is saying that its due to a back issue he was dealing with, confirming Steelers fans’ fear that the veteran’s body isn’t suited to hold up over the course of a grueling NFL season.
“Aaron Rodgers said his back was tight on Sunday, which kept him from moving how he typically moves. He said he ran into 1-2 sacks. ‘I might be old, but I still feel like I can move around pretty good, and I wasn’t moving the way I usually like to move,’” reported Brooke Pryor on Wednesday.
One Steelers legend has already voiced his concern with Rodgers’ ability to stay healthy behind this line.
“I’m very encouraged by the way Aaron played. My concern is going to be, moving forward, can Aaron take a beating like that every week? Not at that age. If that doesn’t improve, we’re not gonna have a quarterback very long, and it’s gonna be a rough season,” Ben Roethlisberger said.
It’ll be interesting to see how long Rodgers can sustain this level of play if he can’t keep his back healthy behind what is expected to be a shaky offensive line.