Ben Roethlisberger Still Has One Major Concern After Aaron Rodgers's Strong Steelers Debut

The 41-year-old quarterback was sacked four times in the Steelers' Week 1 win.

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times by the Jets in Week 1. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Aaron Rodgers definitely impressed fans during his Steelers debut on Sunday, which resulted in a 34–32 win over his former team, the Jets.

The veteran quarterback completed 22 of 30 pass attempts for 244 yards and four touchdowns—not too shabby for a 41-year-old working with a new offense. The downside, though, was the offensive line allowed Rodgers to be sacked four times. This was tied for the third-most across the league in Week 1. It's not great that the oldest active NFL player was taking that many hits in the first game.

Former Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger weighed in on Rodgers's debut and admitted these hits are the biggest concern he has regarding Rodgers moving forward. He doesn't want Rodgers to get too banged up.

"I'm very encouraged by the way Aaron played," Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin' podcast. "My concern is going to be, moving forward, can Aaron take a beating like that every week? Not at that age. ... If that doesn't improve, we're not gonna have a quarterback very long, and it's going to be a rough season."

The Steelers don't probably want to think about what would happen if Rodgers got injured and had to miss time this season. Pittsburgh's backup is Mason Rudolph, a seasoned backup with the Steelers. However, he's not proven to be a quarterback the franchise can pin all of their hopes on. Rodgers, on the other hand, is the quarterback the Steelers are throwing all of their eggs in a basket for in 2025. So, it is crucial for him to remain healthy for the remainder of the season.

If Rodgers stays healthy, though, he seems to be a pretty promising starting quarterback for Pittsburgh based on Week 1, despite the doubts heading into the season.

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