Aaron Rodgers' former coach addresses if QB will be good mentor for younger Steelers players

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers developed a reputation over the past handful of years for not always having the best of relationships with younger teammates.

Former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, a longtime Rodgers favorite, thinks those inside the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room will get along swimmingly with the 41-year-old who is on track to serve as that club's starter for the 2025 season. 

"The guys that played with him or have played with him for a long time, they can't say enough good things about him," Clements said about Rodgers during a Thursday appearance on Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "He's a very good teammate."

Rodgers seemingly wasn't a "very good teammate" for everybody over his final years with the Packers and during his two-season stint with the New York Jets. A report from December 2022 detailed how Rodgers allegedly quizzed Green Bay wide receivers ahead of games that season regarding the numerous hand signals he used to change routes and other aspects of plays at the line of scrimmage. More recently, he and Jets receiver Garrett Wilson reportedly "never saw eye-to-eye."

In the spring and summer of 2023, Rodgers was a great mentor for then-Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. However, their relationship reportedly "soured over the season" after Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles in September of that year. 

For what it's worth, current Packers quarterback Jordan Love has often spoken highly about what he learned by serving as a backup for Rodgers across multiple seasons. Rodgers understandably wasn't thrilled when Green Bay made Love the 26th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, but the future Hall of Famer eventually vowed to take Love under his wing. 

Rodgers will now join a Pittsburgh quarterback room occupied by backup Mason Rudolph, 2025 sixth-round draft choice Will Howard and Skylar Thompson.

"If there's a young quarterback in the room, he's very good at mentoring them and helping them along because...[Brett Favre] didn't come to the offseason program, and he didn't really have anyone helping him like he has helped people in the past," Clements said about what Rodgers experienced early in his career. "So, he's good with the young guys. He's good with the old guys. The guys who play with him love him."

In the end, Pittsburgh players will "love" it if Rodgers is able to guide the club to at least one postseason victory. If he doesn't, this experiment could prove to be little more than a waste of time for an organization that will likely spend next spring once again looking for a long-term answer at the sport's most important position.