Dale Lolley

Wearing a white No. 8 practice jersey, Aaron Rodgers took the field with the Steelers for the first time at their minicamp here at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Tuesday.

The teammates are new. The facility is still somewhat foreign to him.

The tradition, however, is not.

Having played for another iconic franchise, the Green Bay Packers for the first 18 years of his career, Rodgers said his decision to sign with the Steelers was made easier by the fact the two franchises have a similar rich history.

In both cases, it also falls to the coaches with which he'll get an opportunity to work. Green Bay, under head coach Mike McCarthy, had a number of coaches on the staff with Pittsburgh ties.

With the Steelers, Rodgers finally gets an opportunity to work with head coach Mike Tomlin, whom he has admired for some time.

"I think it starts with Mike Tomlin. I've been a fan of his for a long time," Rodgers said following the Steelers' afternoon practice. "There's a few iconic franchises in the NFL. I played for one of them for 18 years. This is another one of those. There's something special about this area.

"So many great quarterbacks are from Pittsburgh. I feel like Pittsburgh has been a part of my career from the beginning, playing for Mike McCarthy for 13 years, having Tom Clements, or Tommy Clements, depending how old you are, as my quarterback coach forever, Don Capers, Kevin Greene, Darren Perry, Derrick McAdoo, Frank Cignetti, Luke Getsy. I don't want to forget anybody, but there have been a lot of Yinzers in my life."

Rodgers, 41, agreed to terms with the Steelers on a one-year contract last week to play a 21st season in the league. He spent the past two seasons with the New York Jets after being traded there in 2023. New York released the four-time NFL MVP prior to the start of free agency, and while the Steelers actively courted him in free agency, Rodgers took his time in determining whether he would play in 2025 while also dealing with some personal matters.

But he and Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan were in contact throughout the process.

"I was dealing with a lot of things in my personal life and some things improved a little bit where I felt like I could fully be all in here with the guys," Rodgers said. "I had great conversations with Mike throughout the entire process and Omar. It was good to get that done and get it behind us."

Now, he's fully bought in.

Tuesday's practice just involved individual work only for Rodgers. But Tomlin said that was part of the plan as the team gets rookie Will Howard, a sixth-round draft pick, as many snaps as possible.

"June reps are a heck of a lot more important for a guy like Will Howard at this stage of his career than a guy who's been doing it for 20 years," Tomlin said. "And so whatever snaps he gets you take away from a guy like Will Howard, and we're trying to get this collective ready for training camp."

Rodgers, meanwhile, said he will be immersed in the team's playbook in the six weeks between now and training camp and also might coax some of his new teammates to come to his home in Malibu, Calif., to throw.

The presence of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who worked with Rodgers' former head coach Matt LaFleur on the same staff in Tennessee, will help simplify the learning process, as well.

"The offense - it's a lot of similar terms from the Shanahan offense, so I've got a lot of stuff already booked," Rodgers said. "There's a couple new words and different things formationally, but I'll have it figured out in a couple weeks probably."

Rodgers, 41, started all 17 games in 2024 for the Jets, completing 63 percent of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 107 yards, pushing him over 4,000 total yards of offense.

The 20-year veteran has appeared in 248 career games, making 241 starts, while throwing for 62,952 yards, 503 touchdowns and just 116 interceptions.

He is seventh in NFL history in passing yards and fifth in passing touchdowns, while his career passer rating of 102.6 is the highest in league history.

That's what made him so attractive to the Steelers.

"Read his resume," Tomlin said. "We're excited about him being here. He's excited about being here. We'll make no bold predictions. We're just going to roll our sleeves up and go to work and let our efforts do the talking."

Rodgers made no bold predictions, either, saying he just wanted to continue to enjoy that game that has given him so much and do so with an organization and head coach that truly wanted him.

"I don't need (the game) for my ego. I don't need it to keep playing," Rodgers said. "A lot of decisions that I've made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, they're always unfulfilling. But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling.

"This was a decision that was best for my soul, and I felt like being here with Coach T and the guys they got here and the opportunity here was the best for me. I'm excited to be here."

Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here:Apple Podcast|iHeart [email protected]

He'll join a quarterback room that has been completely revamped from a year ago as Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen have been replaced by Mason Rudolph, in his second term with the team after spending a season with the Titans, Skylar Thompson and Howard.

Rodgers said he looks forward to being a mentor with that group, particularly to Howard.

"Will's a good kid. We got to talk a little bit. I thought he did really well today. He seems pretty bright, not too big for him. Going through the progressions really well," Rodgers said. "I'm going to be with him every single day and every single meeting. Found my seat next to him today in the offensive meeting, whether or not that sticks. Right next to Will Howard. I'm going to help him out as much as I can."