Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has articulated his stance regarding his mentoring of rookie quarterback Will Howard. With an average career span of 3 1/2 years, the average football player usually doesn’t play long enough to teach younger players.
Veterans tend to focus on staying in the NFL while trying to secure a lucrative contract. Yet, established NFL stars often approach the game differently.
With millions in the bank and job security almost assured, some greybeards will take it upon themselves to show the younger athletes the ins and outs of the game. Everything, from nuances to off-field expectations, becomes a discussion topic.
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Wants to Take Rookie Will Howard Under His Wing
Years ago, a rookie quarterback from California walked into the Green Bay Packers’ locker room. Future Hall of Famer Brett Favre held court. In his eyes, the Packers were his team.
In Favre’s mind, Green Bay paid him to handle business on the field and lead the team. Favre made his intentions perfectly clear. At the time, Favre, a 35-year-old with plenty of good years left in his opinion, didn’t want to help the youngster.
“My contract doesn’t say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play,” Favre said at the time. “Now hopefully he watches me and gets something from that.”
Rodgers has mentioned how this season could serve as his last. As a result, helping a rookie doesn’t bother them, just as in 2020, when Green Bay spent a first-round selection on Jordan Love, who eventually supplanted Rodgers.
Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, was interviewed on Tuesday, June 24, on “The Pat McAfee Show” and he talked about helping out the next in line.
“I wanna help Will Howard as much as possible..
If I can help him become a better player that would be an incredible achievement..
He’s such a good kid and I’m really looking forward to helping him out this season” @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/YMxnijQ6OC
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 24, 2025
“I want to help Will Howard as much as possible,” Rodgers told McAfee. “If I can help him become a better player, that would be an incredible achievement. He’s such a good kid, and I’m really looking forward to helping him out this season.”
In essence, Rodgers can see that his time in the NFL will come to a close soon. He never received that mentorship from Favre. Instead, he needed to figure the game out on his own, eventually surpassing Favre in regard to gridiron greatness.
As a result, Rodgers probably doesn’t want Howard to endure the same lack of leadership that he faced as a member of the Packers.
One day, Howard could eventually take the reins of the team and lead the Steelers back to championship glory. While it may look easy to brush the sentiment off, look who will assume the role of his tutor?
Rodgers cannot force Howard to scan progressions faster or make the correct reads. But he can show the rookie how to play the game in order to win games. Without a doubt, the onus resides with the rookie to learn all he can and implement those concepts into his approach.
