Aaron Rodgers will not participate in the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers, according to coach Mike Tomlin. Consequently, Rodgers is set to make his first start with the Pittsburgh Steelers during Week 1 against the New York Jets. Other key players, including DK Metcalf, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt, will also not play in this game. Rodgers did not play in any preseason games, but had practice sessions against the Tampa Bay defense and emphasized the importance of learning from failures during the team drills.
Though he didn't get any game action in the preseason, Rodgers got work against Tampa Bay's starting defense in a joint practice last week. The Steelers offense started out strong in the practice with a 6-1 win in the 'Seven Shots' drill, scoring on six of seven attempts, but failed to move the ball at all in the practice-ending two-minute drill. Rodgers stated, 'Failure is always best this time of year to learn from and to be able to let the coaches go through and let us go through it.'
Tomlin added that DK Metcalf, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt also will not play vs. Panthers. Rodgers last saw preseason action in 2023 when he played in one game and completed 5 of 8 attempts for 47 yards with a touchdown against the New York Giants.
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