J.J. Watt Didn’t Love Report on Aaron Rodgers Crying Over Mike Tomlin’s Exit

Aaron Rodgers reportedly cried after learning Mike Tomlin was stepping down as Steelers head coach. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

By now, NFL fans have probably read The Athletic’s latest report on Mike Tomlin leaving the Steelers, which revealed an uncharacteristically vulnerable moment from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

In the report, Mike DeFabo shared exclusive details of the Steelers’ final team meeting with Tomlin: T.J. Watt was in tears, as was Rodgers, who reacted to Tomlin’s departure with a sad parting apology.

DeFabo wrote:

Inside the team meeting room on Tuesday, Rodgers, through sobs, mustered a two-word message to deliver to his coach: “I’m sorry,” several players heard him say. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

That blurb from the report has since gone viral on social media with many praising DeFabo for a thorough and excellent piece of writing. CBS analyst J.J. Watt, however, took a different side. The former Texans defensive star didn’t seem to think Rodgers’s extremely emotional moment should have been made public.

“Feels like this moment could have stayed in the meeting room,” Watt wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Feels like this moment could have stayed in the meeting room. https://t.co/9QsQroQFZE

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 15, 2026

It makes sense as to why Watt, a former NFL player, might have pushed back on the Rodgers anecdote, based on a loosely followed, unspoken rule that some things are meant to stay behind closed doors.

Yet, others would argue that DeFabo was simply doing his job as a sports journalist and finding the hard-hitting stories that humanize athletes and that fans would want to read. Many on social media were taken aback by Rodgers’s raw and unfiltered show of emotion, having seen another side of a legendary quarterback who has long held his guard up and hasn’t been the most forthcoming in interviews or press conferences in recent years.

DeFabo’s report shared intimate details about the special friendship between a quarterback and his coach, and how hard saying goodbye or ending one’s NFL career can be. People like Watt can argue that those details should have been kept private to protect the sanctity of the locker room, but at the end of the day, what exactly is there to hide?

Rodgers could very well follow Tomlin out of the NFL in the coming months, as his short time with the Steelers seems to be up following the veteran coach’s end-of-season departure.

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