Aaron Rodgers Doesn’t Want to Talk About What It Means to Face Jets

Reporters hoping for a juicy quote from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers about what it will be like to face his former team the New York Jets will be sorely disappointed.

Rodgers, 41, was, shall we say, succinct when asked whether the Steelers’ season opener was different from any other game, given the opponent.

“Yeah,” he said during his weekly media availability, “it’s Week 1.”

Asked what his emotions will be when he takes the MetLife Stadium field on Sunday, he only said, “I’d just be excited for Week 1.”

And, finally, has he kept in touch with anyone from the Jets organization?

“I’m not going to tell you that,” he said.

Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, endured two rough years with the Jets from 2023 to 2024. In 2023, he played just four snaps before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1. Though Rodgers’ numbers weren’t bad the next season, the Jets stumbled to a 5-12 record and the team released him in March 2025.

His time with the Jets came after he played the first 18 years of his career with the Green Bay Packers, where he won Super Bowl XLV and was named the game’s MVP. He signed with the Steelers in June on a one-year, $13.65 million contract.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seemed to predict Rodgers’ curt replies, telling the media not to expect much from him beyond talk about the upcoming game.

“If it means anything to him more than a normal game, he probably wouldn’t tell you,” said Tomlin, 53. “We’re going to go play football.”

“He makes it seem like it’s just another game, and I think that’s cool for us, being able to just put it in our minds that it’s another game,” tight end Pat Freiermuth added. “Obviously we want to go out there and win it for him, but I don’t think he’s kind of living off that, that we’re going back to his old stomping ground.”

Rodgers was a little more open when talking about his first few months with the Steelers, praising the organization and its fans.

“This is the second new, so it’s the new new,” he said. “I’m loving being here. The way that I’ve been welcomed has been really, really special from top down to the fans to guys in the locker room and sports staff, the men and women that work for this organization has been really, really special.”

The Steelers and Jets will kick off from East Rutherford, New Jersey, at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.