Getty Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers share a pregame moment at Heinz Field.
Aaron Rodgers is obsessed with Pittsburgh Dad. And he’s not shy about it.
On his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on September 28, Rodgers gushed about Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, the city of Pittsburgh and the comedic stylings of its beloved son, Pittsburgh Dad.
“I have been around a lot of Pittsburgh people over the years, and I have loved my time with all of them. I have learned to speak the language really well which has actually allowed me to follow and become a big fan of ‘Pittsburgh Dad.’ … A big ‘shaht aht’!,” he told McAfee. “Some incredible, incredible, incredible videos.”
The accent takes Rodgers back to the days of playing under head coach Mike McCarthy (now coaching the Dallas Cowboys), a native of Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood.
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“Whether you live in Pittsburgh, you know somebody from Pittsburgh; you appreciate the videos so much because you know people who talk like that. That was most of my career with Mike (McCarthy) in the headset; trying to figure out what the hell he was saying,” Rodgers said.
Pittsburgh Dad responded via Twitter: “Thanks for the ‘shat aht,’ Aaron Rodgers. I’d say we’ll leave the light on here for you in 2022, but that’ll just run up our electric bill.”
Dreams of Aaron Rodgers to Steelers
Aaron Rodgers coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers — after his time is up in Green Bay — has been the talk around the water cooler for, well, since people talked around a water cooler. The prospect is not very likely to come true, so Pittsburgh Dad is wise not to “leave the light on.”
But this is the NFL. Stranger things have happened. Ben Roethlisberger’s contract in Pittsburgh is void after the 2021 season, with no solid heir apparent on the current roster. As for Rodgers, he threatened retirement before the Packers organization managed to entice him to return to Green Bay in July.
The All-Pro quarterback’s contract balloons next year. Rodgers wanting out of Green Bay and the team owing him $46.144 million (or 21.4% of the cap, per OverTheCap.com) have all the makings of shopping for a trade suitor in the offseason.
Could Rodgers Even Help the Steelers?
Let’s pretend, for a moment, that the rumblings of Rodgers to Pittsburgh are substantiated. Could he even help the Steelers? Roethlisberger is 39 years old — double that in football years — and he’s been slowing down for a while now.
Rodgers turns 38 in December. Age aside, he’s a bit more agile than Roethlisberger, though not significantly, and sack numbers are partial proof of that fact. According to Pro Football Reference, Rodgers has been taken to the ground 473 times to his counterpart’s 524.
Like Roethlisberger, Rodgers has played behind some substandard offensive lines. Pittsburgh’s line isn’t going to be able to magically protect its quarterback better in 2022 than in 2021. The vicious run-for-your-life cycle would only begin again with Rodgers at the helm.
Could Rodgers be successful in Pittsburgh and take the Steelers to the Promise Land — something Roethlisberger hasn’t been able to do since the Steelers were defeated by the Rodgers-led Packers in the 2010 Super Bowl? That question will probably never be answered.
The two legendary quarterbacks face each other — likely for the last time — this Sunday, October 3, at 4:25 Eastern time.