As he enters likely final NFL season, Aaron Rodgers wants to fit in as Steelers quarterback

Aaron Rodgers brings to the Pittsburgh Steelers a resume that is as thick as a phone book.

Entering his 21st NFL season, the 41-year-old quarterback is a former Super Bowl champion, four-time league MVP and its seventh all-time leading passer. He ranks sixth in regular-season victories among quarterbacks and is tied for ninth in career postseason wins.

Rodgers also joined a team this summer that isn’t exactly lacking in leaders. Which is why there is a belief that one of the NFL’s most recognizable faces shouldn’t feel compelled to become the face of a franchise, one that is asking him to help end a nearly decade-long run of playoff failure.

The Steelers’ lengthy courtship of Rodgers this spring dominated headlines, and it didn’t slow the news cycle with the quarterback dragging out his decision until June. Still, when the Steelers report to training camp at Saint Vincent on Wednesday, there is hope Rodgers can blend in with the other 89 players on the roster and be just one of the guys.

“It doesn’t have to be a big change,” said Cameron Heyward, the longest tenured Steelers player who is entering his 15th season with the organization. “Welcome him to the locker room, let him be a teammate, let him learn his way, let us learn his.

“It doesn’t have to be something overblown. Let him be part of the locker room. We don’t need to build it up to be something else.”

It might be wishful thinking given Rodgers’ track record on the field and his celebrity status away from it. He dated Hollywood actresses before quietly getting married this offseason to a woman whose identity he is keeping under wraps. He has hosted game shows, feuded publicly with talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel and was fined during the pandemic for violating league covid-19 protocols.

For his part, Rodgers said since joining the Steelers that he longs for a quieter existence and will fade away from the spotlight once he retires, which he predicts will be after this season.

Until then, Rodgers wants to embrace one final season in the NFL. He decided to play for the Steelers — and opted against retirement — because it was good for his “soul,” saying it was unlike previous decisions he made in his life that were based on ego and self-fulfillment.

Rodgers simply is looking for a fresh start after two unsatisfying seasons in New York. He missed all but four snaps of the 2023 season because of an Achilles injury, and he compiled a 5-12 record as a starter last year before the Jets released him.

“Even with 20 years in the league and 17 as a starter, there’s still a part where you’re earning your stripes and paying your dues,” Rodgers said. “Even though I come in with that past and background, it’s important to come in with humility.”

After arriving at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex to sign his contract, Rodgers sought out quarterbacks coach Tom Arth. Rodgers and Arth briefly were teammates in Green Bay in 2006, and the future Hall of Fame quarterback wanted to make sure his presence didn’t overshadow the teachings of the team’s second-year position coach.

“I pulled him aside and said I want to help you as much as possible, but I’m not going to overstep my bounds,” Rodgers said. “If you want my assistance, I’m here, buddy. I want to help you.”

It was the type of message Arth wanted to hear.

“I’m like, ‘Aaron, please,’ ” Arth said. “That is going to be one of the greatest benefits to me, to all of us.”

When Rodgers informed the Steelers he would be accepting their below-market value $13.65 million contract offer, Arth asked coaching staff administrative assistant Chrissy Bulger to compile a binder of the offensive playbook.

Arth noted that despite most players transitioning to an electronic playbook, Rodgers was old-school and preferred a printed version.

“He walked over and at first thanked Chrissy for putting it all together,” Arth said. “He then gave her back the pencils, pens and highlighters and said, ‘I already bought my own. I don’t want you to have to order any more.’

“It was very thoughtful and a way to introduce himself to Chrissy and build that relationship.”

Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, who returned to the Steelers after a one-year absence, wasn’t sure what to make of Rodgers when he first walked into the locker room. Like a lot of people, he had heard the tabloid stories and rumors about Rodgers. He also had memories of not being greeted warmly by another future Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger, when Rudolph was drafted by the Steelers in 2018.

“The kind of person he is — as successful and highly compensated as he is — you don’t have to be friendly and talkative with the younger guys,” Rudolph said of Rodgers. “And he is.”

Rodgers has gone on record as saying he wants to mentor rookie quarterback Will Howard, who was drafted in the sixth round after leading Ohio State to a national championship. Howard might or might not be the quarterback of the future for the Steelers, but he likely will be a part of the franchise after Rodgers has retired.

“He was a super down-to-earth guy,” Howard said of his initial meeting with Rodgers. “You think he’s this big-time, famous guy. Everybody knows Aaron Rodgers, but he is down to earth, not at all what you would expect. Super personable, has treated us pretty well so far. I’m impressed by him and the way he carries himself.”

Rodgers almost certainly will be named a team captain in September when the annual voting is conducted. A quarterback has been selected captain for the Steelers every year since 2010. Even Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett were voted captains, respectively, in the two years following Roethlisberger’s retirement.

Rodgers has received that honor 14 times in his decorated career, including 12 times in 18 seasons in Green Bay and the past two years in New York with the Jets.

If there is a leadership void on the Steelers, it’s on Rodgers’ side of the ball. The defense has a 10-time captain in Heyward, and a four-time selection in T.J. Watt. Special-teams ace Miles Killebrew received the designation each of the past three seasons.

“That is what is really exciting about Pittsburgh is the built-in leadership that already exists there,” Rodgers said.

On offense, though, the longest tenured starter is tight end Pat Freiermuth, who is entering his fifth season. New top receiver DK Metcalf is entering his seventh year but, like Rodgers, his first with the Steelers.

“I just want to be a servant leader here and just pass on the knowledge that I have for 20 years, the experience and just try and fit in with the guys,” Rodgers said. “Get to know them, let them get to know me and just enjoy the process.

“Everything is new. It’s like the first day of school. I don’t know a lot of guys’ names. They don’t have names on the back of the jerseys here. They don’t have names on the doors in the meting room, so I literally walk out of the locker room lost, try and grab somebody and (say), ‘Hey, where am I going?’ But I’ll get the feel of it. I’m excited about making this home.”