Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Confirms Well Known Big Mike Tomlin Issue: "Not That There's A Lot Of Rules In General"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had quite a few rumors spread over the way they do things in the last few years. People are always saying things like they're cheap, they don't care about greatness, they are perfectly fine with being in the mid-tier forever, and other major accusations. The only way for the team to prove everyone wrong is to go out there and show how great they truly are on a week-to-week basis, especially in the playoffs. The failure there is the biggest reason for all these claims coming out. 

During a media availability on Wednesday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers explained everything he told former (and current) teammate Marquez Valdez-Scantling while he was working out for the Steelers. In the process, he let a little piece of information come out about the way that the team does things behind closed doors.

"I was telling Marquez, 'There's no bad apples here, there's nobody to worry about, nobody with consistent late issues or team rule issues,'" Rodgers said. "Not that there's a lot of rules in general."

It's great that the quarterback and team leader went out of his way to say that everyone on the team is pleasant, but that last part was a bit of a shocker. There are not a lot of rules for the team in general. As long as those few ones are being followed and nobody is causing any issues in the locker room, then it can't be too much of a bad thing. It was just surprising to hear that get dropped out of nowhere for many fans.

Of course, everyone in the room is an adult, so it's not like they need to be coddled with straightforward rules that take them back to grade school. Even in college football, a lot of the rules are just about how you act outside of the team facilities. It's unclear whether other NFL teams have a longer or shorter list of do's and don'ts, so comparing it to the likes of everyone else is tough. There are some good examples, though.

The way Rodgers said that, however, could imply that there are fewer rules there than his or Valdez-Scantling's other teams. Maybe the Green Bay Packers had a very strict way of doing things. The 41-year-old quarterback has been known to be harsh on his teammates, so that could be a factor as well. He was very hard on the New York Jets, and it led to him getting a bad reputation where Pittsburgh was one of few teams willing to actually sign him in the 2025 offseason.

Steelers Have Seen Other Examples Of Harsh Demands For Rules

Legendary Head Coach Bill Belichick was known for being probably the toughest coach to play for, and many of his rules have been revealed on podcasts like Games With Names. His rules even went down to mandating that every single player wears a full-on suit for the plane ride to the next road game. The New England Patriots have been very strict, but it led to six Super Bowl victories and a few more appearances, so there was not much complaining.

Former Steelers defender Cassius Marsh did have a public complaint, though. He previously spoke about how the Seattle Seahawks were so much lighter on their player demands with Head Coach Pete Carroll. The Patriots were so much more about business then teams like the Seahawks and Steelers, but if it works, it's all okay.

Many of Belichick's assistant coaches have developed reputations of being too hard on the rules themselves, as they have tried to replicate what their former boss did. The problem is none of them had the resume that Belichick did, so guys like Matt Patricia and Bill O'Brien wore down a lot on their players, leading to players wanting to be traded away.

What do you think about the Steelers not having many rules? Do you think it's a good or bad thing? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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