They spent just four seasons together, but the relationship between Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a strong one.
So strong, in fact, that LaFleur took the opportunity to rib his former quarterback Wednesday during his press conference.
Though LaFleur downplayed seeing Rodgers in Week 8 on Sunday Night Football as nothing more than a Steelers-Packers matchup, there is something special coming into the game, one in Rodgers has a shot at history, too.
“He looks like he can still do anything. What’s surprising for such an old man, he’s still moving around pretty good, too,” LaFleur said of Rodgers, according to video via the Packers’ YouTube page. “You’ve seen it in multiple games. He had an off-schedule the other day versus Cincinnati where they’re dropping eight and he is running back and forth across the field, throws a touchdown pass. Obviously the one to [Pat] Freiermuth, that 70 yarder he had, he got out of the pocket, made a hell of a throw on that one. The arm strength is still plenty there. You guys see it. You especially saw it on the Hail Mary. I mean, I don’t know how many guys that can throw the ball over 70 yards in the air.
“I’m not quite sure how far it went, but it had to have been at least 70 yards. It’s still pretty impressive what he can do.”
What Rodgers had left after two seasons in New York was the biggest question this offseason as the Steelers were pursuing him. He turns 42 years old in December and didn’t look all that good last season with the Jets, at least until late in the year.
Further removed from the torn Achilles he sustained in 2023, Rodgers has started to look like himself once again. Granted, he’s not the MVP-level Rodgers he was late in his Green Bay tenure. But he’s been pretty darn good so far this season and has been everything the Steelers were hoping for — and then some.
He’s generated quite a connection with standout receiver DK Metcalf through six games and is utilizing a tight end room he called one of the best he’s ever been around. Things are clicking in Pittsburgh offensively, and Rodgers is a huge component of that.
He’s proving he has plenty left in the tank, and his play might be forcing the Steelers to rethink their QB plans for 2026.
“He can throw with pinpoint accuracy. There was one — I know the ball ended up getting picked off — but it was two-man on DK and he threads the needle and the DB just ripped it away. But it was a great pass,” LaFleur added of Rodgers. “It’s just this guy is extremely accurate. If you give him just a sliver of light, he can fit the ball in there.”
Though the Packers don’t have many players who were around when Rodgers was on the roster, they know just what type of quarterback they’re up against. They might be downplaying the matchup due to what it means for both franchise and quarterback, but they aren’t overlooking the 41-year-old quarterback and what he can do on the field.
LaFleur still sees greatness in him. He’s going to show it again on Sunday night.
Recommended for you