NFL Scout Says Aaron Rodgers Looks 'More Secure,' Less Hesitant with Steelers

One NFL scout feels Aaron Rodgers looks more comfortable with the Pittsburgh Steelers than he did during his final campaign with the New York Jets.

Rodgers, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Week 1 of the 2023 campaign, played all 17 games of the 2024 season for the Jets but was at times visibly limited in his movement.

The AFC scout told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that Rodgers' Week 5 game with the Jets last season in London marked "six-to-eight weeks of almost zero mobility due to injury."

"He was compromised and it showed," the AFC scout told Fowler. "But just being a year removed [from the Achilles tear], he seems a little bit more secure and a little less hesitant compared to a year ago."

Making sure Rodgers remains confident with the Steelers could necessitate some improvements from Pittsburgh's offensive line going forward.

Rodgers completed more than 73 percent of his passes for 244 yards with four passing touchdowns in his Sept. 7 Steelers debut to mark a Week 1 triumph over the Jets.

He also took four sacks, however, and told reporters after the game he hadn't been "moving that well" in part because of tightness in his back.

"I got to do a better job of using my legs," Rodgers said after the season-opening win over the Jets, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "I might be old, but I still feel like I can move around pretty good, and I wasn't moving the way I usually like to move."

Rodgers then took three more sacks and threw two interceptions on Sept. 14 in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He said after the loss that he believed he was "moving a little bit better" than in the season opener.

When asked if he believed the hits he was taking were the responsibility of the offensive line, Rodgers answered, "It's on all of us. I've got to get rid of the ball. We've got to get open. We've got to hang on up front."

Through two weeks of the 2025 season, Rodgers is one of just four quarterbacks averaging fewer than six yards per pass attempt, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

He also has recorded a pressure-to-sack ratio of 30.4 percent, which ranks him 32nd in the league through Week 2, per Pro Football Reference.

Seeing those numbers improve down the stretch will depend on Rodgers staying healthy in his age-42 campaign. The Steelers o-line will need to focus on cutting down how much contact Rodgers takes, starting with Sunday's Week 3 road game against the New England Patriots.