Aaron Rodgers has gone into a football season without taking any preseason snaps. Mike Tomlin, though, has never entered a year without his starter getting at least some playing time in the exhibition games.

Tomlin will see if his way is the correct approach as he announced Tuesday that Rodgers is one of four starters who will not play Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers close the preseason with a game at the Carolina Panthers.

Joining Rodgers on the sideline will be wide receiver DK Metcalf, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

“Everyone else is under consideration,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin believes that at age 41 and with 20 years of NFL experience, Rodgers doesn’t need to play in the preseason in preparation for the Sept. 7 regular-season opener at the New York Jets. Although Rodgers didn’t sign with the Steelers until the eve of minicamp in June, missing all voluntary spring workouts, he has shown enough consistency and accuracy in practice that Tomlin thinks preseason snaps aren’t necessary.

“I’m comfortable with what I’m seeing out here,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, if I weren’t, I would be playing him.”

Rodgers also didn’t play in the 2024 preseason, his second year with the Jets. He had eight pass attempts in the 2023 preseason with the Jets, with that playing time coming in the final preseason game. Rodgers then was lost to a season-ending Achilles injury on the first drive of the regular season.

Tomlin hinted before the preseason opener at Jacksonville that Rodgers might not see the field until September, but his plan was not a rigid one.

“I plan according to what I see, and we were living a week at a time,” he said. “I made a decision based on the here and now.”

Speaking with reporters before practice, Rodgers wasn’t sure what Tomlin had in store for him against Carolina.

“I’ll roll with whatever Mike decides,” he said.

For Rodgers, his only taste of facing a team in a different uniform came last Thursday when the Steelers held a joint practice with Tampa Bay. He participated in all team drills that day.

“It was good for us to get the work in,” he said. “There was a lot of film to correct. Failure is best this time of the year to learn from.”

Mason Rudolph will start for the third time in the preseason. Skylar Thompson and Logan Woodside are available off the bench. Sixth-round draft pick Will Howard continues to sport a soft brace on his right hand. He broke a finger prior to the preseason opener and hasn’t practiced since the injury.

“Taking care of the ball, not giving it away,” Rudolph said of his priorities. “That’s always at the forefront. We have a couple new wrinkles, and it’s good to take that from the meeting room to the field.”

In a departure from the first two games, Tomlin is prepared to give some playing time to his cornerback trio of Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. He would like to see their communication at work in the preseason finale but is open to sitting them if the Panthers don’t play their starters.

“We’ll get to the stadium and see what is happening on the other side, and we may alter it in some ways,” he said.

Porter is one of the few holdovers starting in the Steelers secondary. The other is strong safety DeShon Elliott, who also sat out the first two preseason games. Slay and free safety Juan Thornhill were signed in free agency, and Ramsey didn’t come aboard until a late June trade with Miami. Ramsey also missed about a week of training camp, although it wasn’t clear if Tomlin was resting him or the cornerback was dealing with a minor injury.

“I’m not worried about the overall readiness of the collective, but cohesion is such a major component of what they do and their ability to communicate in a stadium,” Tomlin said. “It’s the same reason the young offensive front has been working. They lack the collective experience that we have in the secondary, so they have played some. I’m excited about seeing that secondary in the stadium.”

Tomlin plans to have the three cornerbacks on the field at the same time, with Ramsey moving around the secondary and taking some snaps in the slot and others at safety.

“It’s challenging at times,” Ramsey said. “It’s making sure I’m locked in on the various parts of it. I’m enjoying it.”

The lone starting position competition is at punter. Tomlin plans to continue alternating Cam Johnston and Corliss Waitman.

“That is one that is getting a lot of attention,” he said. “Both guys have been highly competitive.”

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