Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Has Nothing But Great Things To Say About "Leadership" Of Jalen Ramsey

The Pittsburgh Steelers had an absolute turnover fest in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts, as they had six takeaways in the upset victory. This came after going through the entire month of October without taking the ball away once and the defense playing historically bad in the previous two contests. It was certainly ugly, but a win is still a win, and it was a needed one to have any chance of turning this season around and getting back on track. Their schedule is still tough ahead, and they will need to stay locked in for the rest of the season.

During his postgame press conference, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had all kinds of great things to say about the defense after they essentially carried him and his offense to victory. However, he felt the need to shout out one player in particular for his leadership.

"Got to give 5 (Jalen Ramsey) a lot of credit for his leadership the last 24 hours," Rodgers said. "I haven't seen the film, but just from the eye test, it felt like he was in the right place on defense and we were opportunistic."

While Jalen Ramsey did not appear on the stat sheet very often, he was a big part of this defense on Sunday. He had just five tackles in this contest with one leading to a penalty, but his impact for this unit goes far beyond the measurables. The Steelers traded for him for his versatility, and in this game, that strength came in very clutch all game long. It absolutely helped to secure victory for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers' safety core got absolutely wrecked throughout the previous seven days. It was so bad that there were only two healthy safeties ready to go for this contest, and one of them was Kyle Dugger, whom Pittsburgh just acquired via trade and had only two practices with his new team before Sunday. That meant Ramsey had to put away his cornerback duties and move back for the entire game, just so Dugger and Juan Thornhill would not have to play every single snap. 

The Steelers made quarterback Daniel Jones very uncomfortable in the pocket throughout the entire game. When he was able to step up and make a throw, the safety core led by Ramsey was able to make sure that Jones was never able to beat them over the top. They did their jobs all game long. It was not pretty, and the fans may not have seen much, but everyone on the team certainly took notice.

Steelers May Want To Have Ramsey Play Safety More

The Steelers have thrived off of taking aging cornerbacks and putting them in a different position. Ramsey has not been very successful at cornerback in 2025, but he played free safety like a natural. At that position, he can use his vision and expertise to be in position more often, and as Rodgers said, his leadership seems to be amazing. 

Ramsey had to be the guy to step up and go away from what he's done all his life to fill in a hole for the Steelers, and that's exactly what he did. With DeShon Elliott out, someone had to be the hype man for this unit, and in the previous 24 hours, that clearly was the former Super Bowl champion as well. On and off the field, he showed exactly why Pittsburgh traded for him. 

There was one word that never left anyone's mouth on Sunday during the media availabilities: miscommunication. Ramsey can't do a lot of communicating when he's playing outside cornerback. At safety, however, he can help get others in the right spot to make plays. That can't be measured with analytics or basic stats, but the leadership that Ramsey displayed is exactly what the Steelers need.

What do you think about Rodgers praising Ramsey's leadership? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

#SteelerNation