Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Had Big Lesson For 2025 Rookie: "Don't Look At My F*cking Eyes"

When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers to be their quarterback, their hope was that his football IQ would not only lead to better plays on the field, but also having the team around him develop more. He was meant to be the guy that would get the team over the hump in the playoffs, but he could not do that. However, he was praised nonstop for his ability to mentor the younger players, so the team got part of its goal accomplished with him. He may have regressed as a player a bit, but he has been a great coach on the field for Pittsburgh.

It wasn't just offensive players that Rodgers was helping either. While making a recent appearance on The Christian Kuntz Show, rookie edge rusher Jack Sawyer detailed his first practices with Rodgers and how he got torched by him in the offseason program.

"In practice, there would be a couple times I'm dropping and Aaron's funny," Sawyer said. "He would just be staring right at me when I'm dropping; he'd be looking right at me, smiling, and he'd just throw it. He'd be like, 'Don't look at my f*cking eyes, rook. It's not going to help you...' that next day in [mandatory minicamp], I'm dropping to the hook curl in the middle of the field, and he's just staring at me, smiling. All of a sudden, he just throws it while looking at me. 'Quit f*cking looking at my eyes.'"

Having a rookie learning the game against a then-41-year-old in his 21st offseason program is a brutal mismatch in terms of wits and football IQ. Rodgers kept torching Sawyer no matter where he dropped while playing in zone coverage. The fact that the four-time MVP was smiling while doing it just made everything worse for the former fourth-round pick. 

Rodgers did more than just pick on Sawyer, however. The 2025 rookie explained what happened after those brutal practice reps.

"Then, I talked to him about it, and he explains from his perspective, 'Hey, if the end is dropping here, I know what coverage you're in. I don't really need to look at where guys are at. I know where I'm throwing the ball as soon as I catch it pretty much' type of deal," Sawyer said. 

Sawyer had to learn quick to not be so obvious when he drops out, or else Rodgers would keep delivering. It's already hard enough for a 4-3 defensive end to play zone coverage against these hyper-athletic offensive skill positions, let alone against a bunch of quarterbacks that study everything you're doing. On top of that, he had to learn how to be a 3-4 outside linebacker to play in Pittsburgh. 

Sawyer did struggle in pass coverage, as he allowed seven receptions on nine targets for an average of 18.1 yards per completion and a touchdown. The two that weren't caught by the receiver, however, were caught by him. One of them was deflected off the face mask of a defensive lineman, but Sawyer still showed some good hands and awareness for a pass rusher. The more he plays, the more he will learn to be better when dropping into coverage.

Steelers' Sawyer Could See An Increased Role In Near Future

The Steelers are absolutely loaded at edge rusher. It has gotten to the point where someone will likely have to be traded away or allowed to walk in free agency in either 2026 or 2027 -- Nick Herbig will be looking for his big payday. Once one of the big three outside linebackers, including TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith, has to leave the team, Sawyer will get promoted to primary backup and will get a lot more reps whenever someone needs a breather or is injured.

What do you think about Sawyer getting some harsh lessons from Rodgers? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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