Father Time is undefeated, especially in a sport as punishing as football. But at 41, Aaron Rodgers is doing everything he can to defy the clock and make one last climb to the summit of NFL greatness. He’s been there several times before, and Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith thinks he has all the tools to do it again.
“Certainly, he’s not 25 years old anymore,” Smith said via [The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6541450/2025/08/08/steelers-offense-system-arthur-smith-aaron-rodgers/). “But he’s in incredible condition…He’s throwing on the move, and he’s making some throws on the run that are ‘wow’ type of throws that I don’t think many quarterbacks are making.
“I think it’s all still there. He’s certainly going to be able to escape the pocket, extend plays for us when he needs to. All of the movement passing game, it’s alive and well with him.”
Rodgers has many great traits as a quarterback, but one that made him special in his prime was his mobility in the pocket and ability to extend plays and deliver astoundingly accurate throws on the move. Smith still sees that quality in his play.
After a 2023 Achilles injury, Rodgers was more stationary in the pocket in 2024. He would get rid of the ball quickly to avoid taking too much punishment and you rarely saw him on the move outside the pocket. That started to change by the end of the season. Beyond his Achilles injury, Aaron Rodgers dealt with a [handful of other bumps and bruises](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/06/rodgers-already-moving-a-lot-better-than-at-any-point-last-year-riddick-says/) that hampered his movement. This year, he seems to be starting with a clean slate of health.
Veterans normally get several days off throughout training camp, but the Steelers have only given Rodgers one rest day so far. He has handled that well, especially in the stifling heat throughout camp. To his credit, he was extremely active in his training with a 90-day program at Proactive Sports Performance leading up to camp.
Bob Labriola of Steelers.com noted that Rodgers is more functionally mobile in the pocket than Russell Wilson was last season. The Steelers haven’t had a quarterback capable of navigating a pocket since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
And the physical skills are only half of what can make Rodgers successful. His mental processing and 20 years of experience should help make up for any small drop off in physical readiness as the season wears on.
Is he going to take off running for big gains? Probably not, but the narrative that he is too old to move effectively is wrong. Arthur Smith can vouch for that after three weeks of training camp.