Steelers' Mike McCarthy Had A Secret Reason For Not Playing Aaron Rodgers Versus Green Bay

The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first preseason game of the 2026 season on Thursday night, and the team won quite easily over the Green Bay Packers by a score of 28-9. Pittsburgh looked like a mess a bit throughout the game as penalties were a consistent issue, especially on special teams. What kept Pittsburgh in the contest was the play of the offense, and particularly it was the play of the three quarterbacks that stepped on the field against Green Bay. Those were Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar. Aaron Rodgers did not participate in the first game of the season against his former team.

There has been a ton of chatter about whether or not Rodgers was going to play in the preseason. He has been quite clear in saying he doesn't see the point in stepping onto the field, while Head Coach Mike McCarthy has said he would like to see the veteran quarterback lead a drive or two. 

That could happen over the final two preseason games, but it was not going to happen on Thursday night as Rodgers did not even dress for the contest. It was assumed that the reason he was not playing was simply because he is 42 years old and it might be considered risky to put him on the field in the preseason.

Beat writer Gerry Dulac posted on social media as it became clear that Rodgers would not play, and he gave McCarthy's actual reasoning for the decision.

"Mike McCarthy was prepared to use Aaron Rodgers against the Packers, but decided against it because his QB didn’t have one half of his top receiving duo, Michael Pittman Jr.," Dulac wrote. "He won't use Rodgers if he doesn’t have both Pittman (injured) and DK Metcalf at his disposal."

This reasoning makes sense. The only reason to play Rodgers would be to build the chemistry between him and the rest of the starting offense, but that would be hard to do if one of his top two receivers was not on the field. It is also worth noting that DK Metcalf did not practice a couple of times over the last week, and Rodgers noted that he was dealing with an injury of his own. Michael Pittman Jr. got nicked up during Pittsburgh's Saturday Night Lights practice.

There has been no confirmation on what the plan might be for Rodgers throughout the rest of the preseason. He could lead a few drives in one of the games, but that will only happen if he has both of his top wide receivers on the field. It should also be assumed that he would only take the field if he had all five of his starting offensive linemen in front of him as well.

Steelers Allowed Other Quarterbacks To Shine Against The Packers

With Rodgers not dressing for this game, that left a larger opportunity for Rudolph, Howard, and Allar. Rudolph began the game and led two drives, and while neither of them led to points, the veteran quarterback looked good as he threw for 93 yards while only having one incompletion. 

Howard led a touchdown drive while throwing for 86 yards. Allar was the star of the show as he played for most of the second half. He led three scoring drives as he ran in a touchdown and threw for two more. He immediately started strong by completing a 74-yard pass to fellow rookie Kaden Wetjen, which has a ton of fans excited for the future of the position.

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