The Pittsburgh Steelers will begin their 2025 preseason schedule this Saturday when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Everbank Stadium. This time of year is a great opportunity for young players, as well as unproven players to earn a spot on a 53-man roster before the beginning of the regular season. With preseason games not counting towards regular season records, big-name players and starters often do not play in the opening game, or at all in the preseason, and that will be the case this weekend for the Steelers.
In his press conference on Thursday, Head Coach Mike Tomlin told the media that numerous starters will not suit up for Saturday's game in Jacksonville. Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth, Isaac Seumalo, Jaylen Warren, Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter, Darius Slay, DeShon Elliott, Patrick Queen, Cameron Heyward, TJ Watt, Nick Herbig, and Chris Boswell are all healthy, but will not play vs the Jaguars. Calvin Austin, Alex Highsmith, Donte Kent, and Cory Trice are all dealing with minor injuries and will not play on Saturday.
Tomlin also went on to say that there is no plan in place for those who will play on Saturday and how long they will be on the field.
"Our mindset is if you're in uniform, you're prepared to play throughout the course of the game," said Tomlin.
It is possible that some of the players resting this weekend will play in one or both of the Steelers' remaining preseason games; August 16th at Acrisure Stadium vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and August 21st on the road against the Carolina Panthers.
Among the players on the list of inactives for Saturday's game, a select few have yet to make their Steelers debut. Rodgers, Metcalf, Smith, Ramsey and Slay, and Kent were all brought in via free agency, trade, or draft this offseason. Out of those six players, there is one that Steelers fans are extra anxious to see in action, and that's four-time NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers comes to Pittsburgh after two seasons with the New York Jets. His 2023 campaign only lasted four snaps before he tore his left Achilles tendon, but he bounced back with a respectable 2024 season. Steelers fans are hoping Rodgers can find the spark that led him to back-to-back league MVP honors in 2020 and 2021. Fans will have to wait a little longer to see Rodgers don the black and gold in a real game however, but it is uncertain as to how long they'll have to wait. When asked about Rodgers' playing time in future preseason games, Tomlin said he's not worried about the future.
"I'm not looking ahead to be quite honest with you, I'm just extremely comfortable with my decision not to play him this week," said Tomlin.
This comes just a few days after Rodgers told the media that he would not be opposed to playing in the preseason, if that is what his head coach wanted. It appears however Tomlin is not worried about what he has seen from Rodgers, despite some offensive struggles in the early days of training camp.
Steelers' Rodgers Familiar With Not Playing In Preseason
Rodgers did not take a snap in New York during the 2024 preseason, but he did play a couple drives in his first preseason with the Jets in 2023. While playing for the Green Bay Packers, it was rare to see Rodgers play before the regular season, he did not play a single snap in the 2019, 2020 (no preseason games were played in the NFL), 2021, or 2022 preseasons. This is quite literally a different situation for Rodgers. After playing in Green Bay for 10+ seasons, it wasn't necessary for him to risk injury and play in the preseason. However, with Rodgers joining the Steelers in June, any live-action vs another NFL team could prove as valuable in-game reps to build chemistry with his offensive line and new receivers.
