Aaron Rodgers Will Howard
Aaron Rodgers Will Howard
At 41 years old, Aaron Rodgers isn’t the same player that he once was. While he might be an upgrade under center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he might only be an average quarterback now. That’s a far cry from his prime, when he was a perennial MVP candidate. However, another year removed from his Achilles injury, Rodgers might be better in 2025 than he was in 2024. Former Steelers offensive lineman Willie Colon thinks that Rodgers was great last year, comparing him to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
“I thought he was a top-10 quarterback last year,” Colon said Thursday on the Lots to Say podcast. “I think if you put his stats next to Josh Allen’s, they weren’t far off. He had 11 interceptions, Josh Allen had six. I think he had a 63-percent completion rating, so did Josh Allen. But obviously, two tales of two different seasons. Nevertheless, I still see him as a top 10 quarterback.”
Allen was the league MVP last year, so comparing Rodgers to him feels like a stretch. Yes, they had similar statistics last season, but that doesn’t mean they had similar seasons. Allen even threw for fewer yards than Rodgers, but they were on different levels.
A big part of that is Allen’s rushing abilities. He’s one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the game, and he posted 531 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in 2024. In comparison, Rodgers only had 107 rushing yards last year, with zero touchdowns on the ground.
Josh Allen's second rushing TD of the quarter!
That’s to be expected because they’re both in different points in their career. Allen is in his prime, while Rodgers is likely going into his final NFL season. Allen isn’t even 30 yet, while Rodgers turns 42 in early December. Rodgers is still one of the greatest of all time, but Father Time is undefeated. On paper, Allen and Rodgers might have had similar seasons last year, but in reality, they weren’t even close.
However, Colon has reason to believe that Rodgers will be better this year than he was last year, citing his experience with Achilles injuries.
“I tore my Achilles right after I won my Super Bowl. It took me six months to really feel good and do things. And it took me a full year to feel like I’m back to neutral, where I can get back to being who I wanna be and how I wanna play. Honestly, it’s a two-year injury.”
Bouncing back from an Achilles tear is no joke. It’s one of the most devastating injuries in professional sports right now. Rodgers suffering that at his age could’ve been the end of his career. It was impressive that he managed to battle back to get onto the field at all, even if it took him some time to feel like himself again.
Rodgers got off to a slow start in 2024, but after a few weeks, he looked more like his old self. While he wasn’t as athletic as he used to be, his ability to throw the ball didn’t look too diminished. Colon’s faith in him might be rewarded this year, as long as Rodgers can stay healthy.