Aaron Rodgers Named Steelers Captain Ahead of Revenge Game Against Jets in NFL Week 1

Players on the Pittsburgh Steelers voted quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the offensive captain ahead of a Week 1 matchup with his former team, the New York Jets, the team announced on Monday.

The players also selected defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and linebacker T.J. Watt to serve as defensive captains and safety Miles Killebrew to be the special teams captain.

It will be the 15th time in his career that Rodgers has served as a captain for his team, and obviously the first time he will do so in Pittsburgh after his offseason signing. The future Hall of Famer is a four-time MVP and one-time champion, though whether he has enough left in the tank to guide the Steelers back to the playoffs remains to be seen.

Heyward will be a defensive captain for the 11th straight season for the Steelers, coming off his seventh Pro Bowl appearance and fourth first-team All-Pro selection in 2024 after posting eight sacks, 20 quarterback hits and 11 passes defensed.

Watt will be a defensive captain for the fifth time. While he had something of a down year in 2024 by his own lofty standards, posting 11.5 sacks (a late-season ankle injury didn't help his cause), he remains one of the most feared pass-rushers in the sport.

Killebrew will captain the special teams for the fourth time.

There have been big changes in Pittsburgh this offseason, with Rodgers installed at quarterback, DK Metcalf joining the receiver room, George Pickens departing it and veterans Darius Slay Jr. and Jalen Ramsey added to the secondary (with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick sent to Miami).

The expectation for the Steelers is always postseason-or-bust, but the AFC North is a tough division, with the Baltimore Ravens looking like a championship contender and the Cincinnati Bengals primed for a bounce-back year (the less said about the Cleveland Browns, the better).

Now the team has its captains set as it looks to not only reach the playoffs for the 13th time in the Mike Tomlin era, but also pick up its first postseason win since 2016.