Aug 9, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Gets Blunt About Jets Revenge Game

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Noah Strackbein | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to Week 1 against the New York Jets with revenge games for both quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers will get a shot against his former team following the release of the veteran, and Justin Fields gets to take on the team that benched him after a 4-2 start jut a year ago.

For Rodgers, though, he's not concerned. Speaking with Adam Schein of Mad Dog radio, the Steelers quarterback addressed the so-called revenge game, stating that to him, it's not what everyone else thinks it is.

"Probably nowhere near where it might be made out," Rodgers said. "A lot has changed over there, coaching staff-wise, player-wise. Obviously, I have friendships over there, but it’s one game out of 17, and at 5 o’clock Eastern on that Sunday, it’s only going to be on to the next game. So that’s just the way it is."

Rodgers signed a three-year deal with the Jets but only played two of them. The first season, he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 1. Then, the following season, the Jets finished with a 5-12 record. This past offseason, Rodgers was released, and shared the experience of getting dropped on the Pat McAfee Show.

"I was kinda shocked," Rodgers said earlier in the spring. "Not because I didn’t think that was a possibility ... but shocked because I just flew across the country and you could’ve told me this on the phone. ... And this is verbatim, exactly how it happened. ... And he goes, ‘We just wanna know how you want it released, the messaging.’ And I said, ‘I don’t give a (expletive) about the messaging.’"

Whether he wants to view it as one or not, the Steelers get a shot to give Rodgers a 1-0 start to the season and a victory to prove he and his current team are better than his former team and their new quarterback.

Adding that fact that New York and Fields will be looking to do the same thing, the "revenge game" atmosphere will be stronger than it will be for any other Week 1 game.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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