Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Provided Greatest Advice To One Rookie Years Back

The Pittsburgh Steelers are rapidly getting closer to 2026 training camp as Head Coach Mike McCarthy will oversee this offseason event for the first time in his tenure with the organization. He will have a familiar face under center as Aaron Rodgers reunites with him in what he has stated will be his final NFL season. The duo did win one Super Bowl together, ironically enough, against the team they are both now employed by. With the 42-year-old quarterback also having four NFL MVP Awards, he once provided some advice years back that happened to gain attention from one rookie here in 2026.

While the goal ultimately is to bring playoff success back to the Steel City, Rodgers will also be a mentor to many young players for this 2026 group. His experience and career success in the NFL offers great value he can teach to those players. This is especially true for one of the third-round draft picks from the 2026 NFL Draft. 

At 76th overall, former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar found himself as yet another quarterback for the Black and Gold as they continue to search for a long-term solution at the position. The former Nittany Lion signal-caller has his work cut out for him if he wants to find success at the NFL level, as he has a lot of the physical traits, but also had many shortcomings during his college career. In a recent post on the Steelers' X account, players were asked about the best advice they ever received, and the rookie mentioned the quarterback he will be learning under this season.

“I heard it from Aaron Rodgers, like about two years ago,” Allar said. “He quoted somebody. It was something along the lines of, ‘Why would you ever take criticism from somebody you’d never take advice from?’ That, that was really cool and especially coming from Aaron Rodgers, one of the best to ever do it.”

Little did he know at that time when hearing this quote from Rodgers, Allar would be taking advice and criticism from the veteran NFL quarterback as a teammate. For a guy that has the size, but also needs more development in order to find success at the NFL level, it would greatly benefit the Pittsburgh rookie quarterback to absorb all he can. However, if he can absorb that info as well as translate it into his play on the field, it has the chance to pay massive dividends for him and the franchise.

Steelers Must Quickly Find Franchise QB Or Start Process Over

While the team has failed to replace Ben Roethlisberger with a long-term answer at the quarterback position thus far, they need to do it very soon. That does not mean to throw Allar or second-year quarterback Will Howard into the fire, and they are not doing that. The organization said as much by bringing Rodgers back for another year. Instead, they are hoping that learning under him can provide some much-needed wisdom for them to succeed at the NFL level.

The organization was also recently given some bad news on Howard, as one broadcaster dropped a theory that the team is building him up to be a high-value trade piece. While that may come across as an outlandish conspiracy theory, if true, the organization better hope the Penn State rookie can figure something out while being given a year to sit and learn under a multiple-time MVP winner. Otherwise, the team is going to be back at square one and looking again at drafting a quarterback to try and fill some big shoes in the Steel City.

It is not uncommon for NFL teams to keep taking swings at drafting a quarterback in hopes to finally find their guy long-term. However, for a storied franchise like the Steelers, the sooner they find that, the better off they are. For Allar, hearing that advice from years back should resonate with him as he gets the season to learn under the man who spoke the words.

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