Aaron Rodgers' ex-Packers teammate pours cold water on Steelers' gamble on 4x NFL MVP for playoffs success
Aaron Rodgers has one clear goal in mind with the Pittsburgh Steelers: win the Super Bowl once more to potentially end his career on a high. But if Brady Poppinga is to be believed, such ambitions are very far-fetched.
Speaking on Infinity Sports Network's "Reiter Than You," the former linebacker, part of the same draft class as the multiple-time MVP (2005) and won a Super Bowl with him five seasons later, recalled watching Rodgers last year.
"It's almost like the body is tired and doesn't want to take the hit," Poppinga said. "There's a lot of flinching. I would say his vision is going from reading the field to the rush, which isn't usually normal for high-level quarterbacks. High-level quarterbacks are kind of able to feel the rush and then they're able to keep their eyes downfield."
According to him, it will ultimately prove costly in the Black and Gold's bid to make the playoffs, let alone add to their tally of six Lombardi Trophies:
"Tom Brady went through it. Brett Favre went through it. Everybody goes through it in the game of football. The problem with that is that, for over 17 games, he's not going to be able to play at a caliber that's gonna drive them to be playoff contenders."
Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger thinks Aaron Rodgers will leave Pittsburgh after 2025
Another person who doubts Aaron Rodgers' longevity and viability as a Steeler is Ben Roethlisberger. Speaking on his "Footbahlin'" podcast, the franchise legend surmised that his one-time Super Bowl opponent's one-year experiment in Pittsburgh "might be his last go," (from 37:18 in the video below):
"I don’t think he’s got much more after this year. This might be it for him, personally... He's coming, one year last year off his Achilles. He’s probably like, ‘I felt pretty good.’ This year, he’s going to be better in the sense of (his) body feeling better. That doesn’t mean he’ll play better. There’s a lot of other factors on that."
Rodgers is expected to make his Steelers debut on September 7 at the New York Jets. Kickoff is at 1 pm ET on CBS.