One of the best things about flying home from Seattle on Thursday was that I didn’t have the time (if I would have even had the inclination) to observe the latest bout of verbal diarrhea from Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
I’ll defer to the various clips from the multiple interviews that landed on Thursday, during which Rodgers aired a variety of past grievances and relitigated stale disputes — both professional and personal.
Will I listen to some of today? Not if I can help it. If I do, maybe I’ll share a specific nugget or two of unique nuttiness that stands out.
For now, here’s the inescapable takeaway. The willingness of Aaron Rodgers to unleash random bits of irrelevant vitriol only days before the first game of the 2026 season reveals the fundamental difference in his respect for former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin — and for new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy.
If Tomlin had returned for a 20th season in Pittsburgh, there’s no way Rodgers would have done this. No. Way. Rodgers understands that the comments create a distraction. If Tomlin were still there, Rodgers wouldn’t have done it. With McCarthy in charge, it’s a different vibe.
McCarthy doesn’t need the extra layer of aggravation as he attempts to get his Steelers tenure off to the right start. Rodgers, by all appearances, simply doesn’t care.
He has repeatedly said he doesn’t “give a shit” at this point in his career. For him, that’s fine. But his bizarre willingness to open the vault on the various grudges he clings to like his TD-to-INT ratio will affect others — starting with a head coach who has enough to worry about without considering his quarterback’s various barbs and beefs.
Bottom line? Rodgers had a very high level of respect for Mike Tomlin. Rodgers has a much lower level of respect for Mike McCarthy. Sufficiently low that Rodgers had no qualms about giving McCarthy one more thing to worry about when his sole focus should be to start the post-Tomlin era at 1-0, not 0-1.
