Aaron Rodgers didn’t exactly tiptoe around the chatter hanging over Pittsburgh’s quarterback room. When he joined Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, the Steelers starter addressed a “racy” DM controversy tied to rookie Drew Allar’s Penn State days, and he made clear the noise had already followed Allar around long before he got to the NFL.
“There is a DM thread out there about Drew,” Rodgers said. “It’s out there. It’s a little racy.”
Heyward pressed him on it with a simple follow-up: “Racy or racist?” Rodgers answered right away: “Racy.”
Rodgers then went to bat for his younger teammate, pointing out that Allar has been in a long-term relationship and that the claims behind the messages were not true. He also said the story had already made the rounds in quarterback circles before Allar ever stepped into Pittsburgh.
“It went around the quarterback rooms because quarterback rooms are like that,” Rodgers said. “I was like, ‘Oh s*** man.'”
The rookie’s personal life has been public for years. Allar has been with his high school sweetheart, Emma Bush, since their days at Medina High School in Ohio.
While Bush attended Ohio State and Allar played at Penn State, she was a steady presence at his games throughout college. The pair also shared photos together on draft night, with Bush wearing a Steelers jersey after Pittsburgh picked Allar in the third round.
Rodgers said he brought the subject up with Allar himself after he arrived, and did it with a bit of humor: “You got through that DM scandal then, huh?”
On the field, Allar’s preseason play helped push Pittsburgh into keeping four quarterbacks instead of the standard three. Rodgers said he’s been impressed with both Allar and Will Howard, and he called the current group “one of my all-time favorite rooms for sure.”
That matters more now with Rodgers revealing this will be his final NFL season. He’s the clear starter, with Mason Rudolph, Howard and Allar behind him in a quarterback room that looks nothing like the usual NFL setup.
Rodgers has spent camp mentoring the younger passers, and as he heads toward retirement, Allar’s growth becomes even more important for 2027. For now, though, the rookie seems far more focused on football than on the old chatter that followed him into the league.
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For Pittsburgh fans, the wrinkle is that Sidney Crosby has long been among the players who have spoken highly of Babcocks coaching and organizational demands. Even so, the reaction around the league has been split, because his track record continues to color how some view the decision. The Oilers are betting the upside outweighs the debate, but it is the sort of hire that will keep getting picked apart until the results settle the argument. [Read more 🡒]