Steelers DC Compliments 'Pain in the Ass' Aaron Rodgers After QB Signs Contract

Over a decade of experience managing NFL defenses has taught Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin how difficult his team's new starting quarterback can be to play against.

When asked about newly-signed Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Tuesday, Austin told ESPN's Brooke Pryor, "Well, he's a pain in the ass."

Pryor wrote that Austin was "very complimentary of Rodgers’ accuracy and arm strength," which he told reporters hadn't dropped off since he was helping the Detroit Lions' defense game plan against Rodgers from 2014 to 2017.

This isn't the first time Austin, who worked with the Baltimore Ravens, Lions and Cincinnati Bengals before joining the Steelers' staff in 2019 and getting promoted to DC in 2022, has complimented Rodgers.

Before the Steelers played Rodgers and the New York Jets in Week 7 of the 2024 season, Austin told reporters that "there's not a lot [Rodgers] hasn't seen."

"He has maybe the quickest release I've ever seen in a quarterback, and his accuracy is unbelievable," Austin said last October, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Steelers went on to win that game as Austin's unit held Rodgers to one passing touchdown and the Jets to 15 total points.

Austin will now hope to help his defense, which started out the 2024 season strong before flagging during the team's season-ending losing streak, put together a more consistent performance to help Rodgers and the Steelers end a nine-year postseason win drought next spring.