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Aaron Rodgers sees no advantage to playing in preseason vs. Packers: 'It's not real football' | Latest NFL News, Analysis & Updates | NFL.com

Aaron Rodgers does not see any advantage in participating in preseason games and prefers to help younger quarterbacks through the process.

First seen Aug 12, 2026 · 11:31 AM UTC · last updated Aug 12 11:31 PM

Scoring Zone's Take

Aaron Rodgers sitting out preseason reps is a non-story for fantasy purposes, and it's worth treating it that way in your draft prep. Rodgers has made clear he sees no personal upside to playing in exhibition games, preferring to mentor younger quarterbacks on his roster instead. That's a veteran's standard offseason posture, not a red flag about arm strength, health, or his standing as a starter.

The Green Bay note is a bit of color — Rodgers reportedly expressed disappointment about not getting to play there Thursday night, which reads as nostalgia or a scheduling quirk rather than anything tied to performance or a competitive QB battle. Neither source carries any injury detail, snap-count concern, or depth-chart shakeup, so there's nothing here that should move Rodgers on your board.

Bottom line for draft prep: treat this as background noise. Rodgers' fantasy value should still be evaluated based on his current team situation, weapons, and age/durability profile rather than this preseason-participation opinion piece. No action is needed — don't add, drop, or reach based on this news, and don't downgrade him either. File it away as a mentorship storyline worth revisiting once real practice or depth-chart reports surface closer to the regular season, but for now keep Rodgers valued exactly where you already had him.

Aaron Rodgers sees no advantage to playing in preseason vs. Packers: 'It's not real football'

Here's a countdown of the 10 best highlight plays made by quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2025 NFL season.

42-year-old Aaron Rodgers doesn’t see much point in participating in preseason games.

"It's preseason," the quarterback said via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It's not real football. So if I do, great. If not, great.”

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy suggested to Rodgers earlier in camp that he could play upwards of 30 or 40 plays during preseason action. The more Rodgers has been asked about the possibility of playing Thursday against the Green Bay Packers, the clearer it’s become that entering Year 22, it’d be a waste of everyone’s time.

“Preseason's a lot different. Teams don't run anything anymore. They just really don’t,” Rodgers said. “Even joint practices. The first year we were doing them, it was fun because you got to play a team that wasn't going to play how they played in the preseason. They were going to show you a lot of different things they were working on. It was like a real day at camp.

“But as that got on, it just stopped being like that. It just turned into fights, and nobody showed anything. I think those are a waste of a day. I think preseason football is good to see guys with the pads on, under the lights, how they react to the nerves. But it's not real regular season football.”

Asked directly if there is any advantage to him participating Thursday against his former team, Rodgers responded: “I don’t think so.”

Despite Rodgers' obvious protestations, McCarthy has not taken the veteran playing off the table. The coach noted on Tuesday that he plans to use his quarterbacks in three groupings — the starter playing a series or two, his replacement finishing the first half and the third quarterback playing the entire second half.

Given the need for youngsters Will Howard and Drew Allar to play extensively in the preseason action, Rodgers taking up reps seems counterproductive, particularly given the veteran’s stance on the subject. Instead, Rodgers would prefer to help nurse the first- and second-year QBs through the process.

“I like to be on the headset and calm everybody down,” Rodgers said. “Usually the first game, it's a little hectic on the headset, so I like to be the voice of reason — an occasional dad joke or one-liner, just keep everybody settled in a little bit.”

Coverage from Nfl Dot Com News · by Kevin Patra · Aug 12, 2026 · read original