Steelers' Aaron Rodgers has little to say but perhaps much to prove against Jets
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stands on the sidelines during the first half of a preseason game against the Buccaneers on Aug. 16 in Pittsburgh. Credit: AP/Matt Freed
Aaron Rodgers put on his best poker face on Wednesday and downplayed what it will be like to return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday to face the Jets.
“Yeah, it's Week 1,” Rodgers said.
Will there be any emotions walking into the building you called home for two years?
“I'll just be excited for Week 1,” Rodgers said.
Do you keep in touch with anyone from the Jets?
“I’m not going to tell you that,” he said.
If two years of Aaron Rodgers taught us anything, it’s he doesn’t give short answers. He likes to talk. He’s hiding something. You can believe that.
There’s no doubt Rodgers is excited to play, but he’s not being completely honest about the significance of this game. Not after how it ended, not after how new Jets coach Aaron Glenn showed Rodgers the door.
This game definitely has meaning for Rodgers. You can call it a Rodgers' revenge game if you want. He’s always found things that motivate him. Rodgers will be motivated to have a turn-back-the-clock, MVP-type of game against the Jets.
Rodgers wanted to play for the Jets, wanted to lead them to playoff wins and Super Bowl berths. It didn’t work out the way anyone imagined.
Glenn was hired in January and informed Rodgers a few weeks later that he was going in a different direction at quarterback. Rodgers made it very well known that he didn’t appreciate how Glenn did it.
Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show, his safe place and space to open up about everything football and life. Rodgers detailed what happened after he flew from Malibu to Florham Park, New Jersey, to meet with Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey.
In short, Rodgers called the brief meeting “strange” and said that Glenn didn’t show him “an ample amount of respect.” Rodgers felt it was a waste of his time to fly across country to be told the Jets were moving on and that they could have done it over the phone.
Glenn has said little about his exit meeting with Rodgers or his decision to move on from the future Hall of Fame quarterback. On Tuesday when he was asked about Rodgers, Glenn said, “It’s not relevant now.”
It is relevant for this week, at least. Give the NFL schedule makers credit for providing everyone with such an intriguing, fascinating Week 1 game with so many storylines.
It’s Rodgers’ return to MetLife, where two years ago he ran on the field holding an American Flag as green and white lights flickered and flashed throughout the building. It was an electric moment and atmosphere that was totally gone a few minutes later when Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon four snaps into the game.
Rodgers is squaring off against the coach who decided he wanted to move forward in his first head coaching job with a less proven quarterback. That quarterback just so happens to be Justin Fields, who started the first six games for the Steelers last year.
No one is suggesting Glenn was wrong for turning the Rodgers’ page. Glenn needed to be the strongest personality and voice within the Jets to truly change the culture.
Fields is treating his first meeting against his old team as “Just another game to be honest with you.” Fields is much more believable than Rodgers in this case. The history isn’t the same and the two quarterbacks are different people.
The Jets current quarterback seems extremely chill and those close to him say he’s as even keeled as they come.
“That's absolutely always how he's been,” said center Josh Myers, who played with Fields at Ohio State. “But that's who he is off the field, too. Not too high, not too low.”
Rodgers is outspoken and shows a lot of emotions. At 41 years old, he’s playing for more than just the love of the game. Rodgers wants to prove he has more left than he showed with the Jets and he could lead a team to the playoffs.
He wants to win every game, but he badly wants to beat the Jets. If he does, Rodgers will have much more to say on Sunday.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
