Aaron Rodgers will not take the field Friday night when the Steelers face the Jets, and Mason Rudolph won’t play either.
For the second straight week, the veteran quarterback is being held out of preseason action as Pittsburgh looks elsewhere for live reps. Rodgers, who is entering what the source describes as his last season in pro football, has no real appetite for exhibition snaps anyway. He’s long believed preseason games don’t resemble the real thing and don’t offer much in the way of useful learning, especially for quarterbacks who already know the league inside and out.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy pointed to that same logic while explaining why Rodgers is staying on the sideline and younger passers Drew Allar and Will Howard are getting the work.
"They're young," McCarthy said Wednesday in explaining his decision to play [Will] Howard and [Drew] Allar over the veterans. "Will didn't get to play last year. ...
I have some veterans I feel really good about, obviously with Aaron [Rodgers] and Mason [Rudolph]. I saw what I needed to see from Mason last week.
I've talked highly about Mason really since the spring. So I really want to max out the opportunities with both Will and Drew.
".. We've got two games here, and I want to see those guys play as much as possible and we'll continue as we have all camp."
So while the Steelers are protecting Rodgers and keeping their veteran quarterbacks out of harm’s way, they’re also using these preseason games for a different job: getting a look at what comes next. The snaps against live competition are going to the younger arms, and Pittsburgh is treating those opportunities as the best way to build toward its future.
In Other News...
Zach Wilson Just Landed In A Brutal NFL Draft Debate
For a franchise that has spent years searching for steadier quarterback play, the latest draft conversation is the kind that stings a little more because it feels so familiar. The discussion centers on three first-round passers from the past decade whose college rsums created real optimism, only for their NFL careers to turn into cautionary tales, with Zach Wilson's name sitting squarely among them after the promise that came with being the No. 2 overall pick in 2021.
What makes the debate sharper is how quickly expectations can unravel once a quarterback gets to the league, especially when the gap between college production and pro success is so wide. The piece moves through Josh Rosen's difficult path after going 10th in 2018 and starts into Anthony Richardson's storyline as another example of how complicated these evaluations can become, leaving the bigger question hanging over the Jets and every team that keeps betting premium draft capital on the position. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Linebacker Depth Just Opened A Crucial Audition For One Rookie
Mykal Walkers injury has altered the Jets linebacker picture just enough to create a real opening for someone further down the depth chart. Walker is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks of the preseason, and with camp reps suddenly available, undrafted rookie Jaden Keller is positioned to get a longer look after turning heads in offseason work and the preseason opener.
Keller does not need to win a starting job to matter here, but he does need to keep building momentum if he wants to stick around beyond the summer. The Jets are expected to give him and Kiko Mauigoa extended looks in the coming weeks, and for a rookie on the fringe, every snap now carries a little more weight as the team sorts out its practice squad options. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Near Answers In Roster Battles That Could Shape Week 1
The Jets are getting close to sorting out some of the most important jobs on the roster as they move through August, with the preseason now carrying real weight for players trying to lock down roles before the opener. With a Week 2 exhibition against the Steelers up next, the team is still evaluating several spots that could affect how the depth chart looks when the games count, from the secondary to the backfield and the quarterback room.
Safety, cornerback, edge rusher, backup running back and backup quarterback all remain in play, and recent performances along with a few injuries have helped clarify the picture even if nothing is settled yet. For a roster still taking shape, these are the kinds of decisions that can ripple beyond the final 53, and the next preseason game may go a long way toward showing which players have the edge. [Read more 🡒]