Now that Aaron Rodgers is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the question fans have is how far he can take the team. While Rodgers has a Super Bowl victory under his belt, that was a long time ago. He isn’t that same player. Signing Rodgers comes with a lot of question marks. However, former Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks has been a supporter of the Steelers adding Rodgers. Recently, he shared his one concern with the move.
“Obviously, I’m always gonna have the health problem because it’s never a matter of if, it’s always a matter of when in the NFL,” Starks said Wednesday on The Offensive Line with Annie Agar. “Attrition, adversity is going to happen. How does Aaron respond, how does the team respond, in those adverse situations, whether it’s a nick, a bruise, an injury that limits him?
“If things don’t go well in one of these tight games, especially in the AFC North, what’s the emotional repercussions? Even though I’d like to say that the Steelers, we have dealt with our fair share of soap opera drama on the offensive side of the ball. That’s gonna always be my question. How do you handle that?”
Unfortunately, the Steelers are familiar with drama, especially on offense. Last year, George Pickens’ frequent outbursts were a big topic of discussion. The Steelers’ defense dealt with issues, too.
Therefore, adding Rodgers might feel like throwing gasoline on a fire. He’s a controversial figure, drawing a lot of attention. For the record, most of his former teammates have nothing but good things to say about him. Rodgers hasn’t seemed like a problem in the locker room.
However, he hasn’t been drama-free. For example, last year with the New York Jets, Rodgers threw an interception to lose a game against the Buffalo Bills. After the game, he seemed to place some of the blame for that play on wide receiver Mike Williams, criticizing his route running.
The Steelers are probably going to deal with some low moments this season. That’s just the nature of the NFL. In those moments, eyes will likely be on Rodgers to see how he responds. In the past, he hasn’t seemed to let adversity seriously impact him. When the Green Bay Packers got off to a slow start in 2014, Rodgers preached for everyone to relax. Following that, they won four straight games.
At this point in his career, Rodgers might feel a little more pressure to perform. He’s also entering a new environment, so it’s impossible to predict what potential issues could arise.
Despite that, there are reasons to believe that Rodgers won’t be an issue if things start to go wrong in Pittsburgh. They’ve got great leadership in place with Mike Tomlin and players like Cam Heyward. Also, there isn’t much Rodgers hasn’t seen in the NFL. Pittsburgh has the structure in place to weather any storms they could potentially face.
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