Facing Packers 'not a revenge game for me,' says Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers

He had added incentive to beat the New York Jets in his Pittsburgh Steelers debut, considering the way his two-year stay in New Jersey unceremoniously ended in March.

Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have the same ill will toward his other previous employer, the one with which he spent the first 18 seasons of his NFL career. The one he led to a Super Bowl championship against the Steelers. The one he won four MVP awards for serving as the team’s star quarterback.

Rodgers doesn’t have any animosity for the Green Bay Packers, the next opponent up for the Steelers, in a Sunday night prime-time affair at Acrisure Stadium.

“This is not a revenge game for me,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “I’m excited to see some of those guys and be on Sunday night again.”

The NFL set this Week 8 game as its marquee Sunday night event before Rodgers officially joining the Steelers in June. The seeds for Rodgers landing with the Steelers were planted before the schedule was unveiled, and Rodgers is aware of the hype the matchup is receiving.

He also was quick to squash any narrative that he is fueled by any extra desire to beat the franchise that traded him to the Jets in 2023 to make way for Jordan Love to start at quarterback.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, maybe,” Rodgers said of his Green Bay departure that is three seasons into his rearview mirror. “I have lots of great memories from my time there, a lot of interactions with the fans there.”

Rodgers exited Green Bay as the franchise’s leader in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passer rating. He was second behind Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre in passing yards and completions. In his 15 years as a starter, Rodgers led the Packers to the playoffs 11 times and, as a No. 6 seed, helped defeat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

“It would feel different if I was going back to Green Bay,” Rodgers said. “I have a lot of love for the organization, but if we were playing at Lambeau that would be a little different feeling, for sure.”

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Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he doubted Rodgers would place any extra importance on the game other than a victory would improve the Steelers to 5-2 and keep them entrenched in first place in the AFC North. Teammates haven’t seen a change in his preparation, either.

“He’s the same guy every single day regardless of who we are playing,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said, “but I would imagine all the guys in the locker room understand what it means to him.”

The circumstances surrounding Rodgers’ exit from Green Bay and Favre’s exodus are strikingly similar. In 2008, the Packers traded Favre to the Jets so they could start Rodgers, whom they drafted in the first round in 2005. In 2023, Rodgers also was shipped to the Jets to make way for Love, a former first-round pick who spent three years on the bench awaiting his turn.

While leading the Packers to a 4-1-1 record, Love ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating and he has thrown 10 touchdown passes against two interceptions, displaying the type of ball protection skills that has been Rodgers’ hallmark.

“He’s a great kid, he really is,” said Rodgers, who texted Love last week to discuss common opponents. “I enjoyed my time with him. I’m not surprised by how well he is playing. His progression is like mine.”

Like Rodgers, Love has shined when the lightest are brightest. His 121.1 passer rating is the highest of any quarterback with a minimum of five starts in the Sunday night showcase window. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions in those games.

“I knew the writing was on the wall when Jordan was picked,” Rodgers said. “It was a matter of time. I happened to win MVP the first two years he was with us. I knew at some point there would be a change, and if I wanted to play, it would have to be elsewhere.”

And after spending two years with the Jets, Rodgers was released in the offseason and became a free agent for the first time in his career. After a lengthy courtship, he signed with the Steelers rather than retire.

At 41, Rodgers is tied for fourth in the NFL with 14 touchdown passes. He is tied for ninth in passer rating with a 105.0 mark that is his highest figure since 2021 when he won his fourth MVP award in Green Bay.

“Anytime he steps onto the field, he acts like he’s the best player,” wide receiver Calvin Austin said. “We feel that — just him having confidence in himself and who he is.”

All the while, Rodgers has raised the level of expectations for a franchise that is searching for its playoff win in nearly a decade.

“I’d be lying to say it doesn’t,” Austin said. “When you have someone with his resume … having the respect for the game and what he’s done for this team and game and how he leads, and how he carries himself, it makes you want to go out and ball even more.”