Pittsburgh – In the changing rooms of the UPMC Rooney sports complex, the house off -season of the Pittsburgh SteelersThe names of the veterans are sculpted on wooden plates fixed above their lockers. Most of the new arrivals, on the other hand, have their names written on thick brown paper nailed to their lockers. The involvement is clear: in Pittsburgh, you must win your permanence.
Most newcomers … but not all.
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In a corner of the locker room, with an empty locker on one side and Pat Freiermuth on the other, is the locker of Aaron RodgersFour times MVP, Super Bowl champion, and The Steelers quarterrier on a one-year contract. He has been steeler for less than a week, but this wooden plate bearing his name is already there.
The involvement is clear: Pittsburgh is entirely on Rodgers. And Rodgers, in return, says that he is everything in this team … even if he always finds his way.
“Everything is new, it’s like the first day of school,” he said on Tuesday after the first compulsory practice of Minicamp de Pittsburgh. “I do not know many guys names. They have no names in the back of the jerseys here. They have no names on the doors and the media rooms. And I literally go out of lost changing rooms, trying to catch someone:” Hey, where are I going? “”
This question – Where is Rodgers going? – annoyed a large part of the NFL, and in particular fans of Pittsburgh, for most of the last months, since the Plane Couretttes cut with Rodgers after a failed two -year experience. Rodgers, typically elliptically, said that the time spent keeping the NFL, and in particular the Steelers, waiting was necessary from a personal point of view.
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“Many decisions I made during my career and my life strictly the ego, even if they are well revealed, are still not satisfied,” said Rodgers. “But the decisions taken by the soul are generally quite fulfilling. It was therefore a decision that was the best for my soul.”
Rodgers has hinted cryptically that the out -of -field questions prevented him from engaging with the Steelers earlier than him. “I was facing a lot in my personal life,” said Rodgers, who also revealed that he had married This off -season. “Things have improved a bit, where I could be here with the guys.”
For Rodgers, there was a key factor that influenced him, a person who pulled him towards Pittsburgh.
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“It starts with Mike Tomlin. I have been a fan of him for a long time,” he said, adding: “There are some emblematic franchises. I have played for one for 18 years; that’s another. There is something special in this area.”
On the training ground, while the Allegheny river rushed on one side and the trains passed at regular intervals on the other, Rodgers and the Steelers worked with serious but not intense behavior. It’s still early, after all. Everyone is in shorts. And for the moment, Rodgers is in a contemplative mood.
“I just want to have fun. I want to enjoy the game. The game gave me a ton,” he said. “It is difficult to think of anything in my life that is positive that has not been impacted, directly or indirectly, playing this game. So I just want to return love to the game, enjoy, transmit my knowledge to my teammates and try to find ways to help lead the team.”
Aaron Rodgers (8) and Skylar Thompson discuss during minicamp training on Tuesday. (AP photo / Gene J. Puskar)
(Associated Press)
The team is inclined to let him direct, even if some Steelers cannot really believe that they play with it, you know … Aaron Rodgers.
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“Being here for me is a dream come true”, Will Howard – One of these recruits of name -plaque – said before training. “I was 9 when he won the Super Bowl. At the draft ’05, I was 3 years old. I look at him almost my whole life.
“It’s pretty cool”, center Zach Frazier said. “Myself as a youngster, we are very excited about this. I’m excited now. “
Frazier added that Rodgers had a message for the team: “All in, from now on.” (Rodgers, for his part, refused to reveal what he said to his teammates.)
The Steelers were committed to Rodgers. And he, in turn, is committed to them this season. A cynical would say that none of the games had other real options – the Steelers have not won an eliminatory match since the 2016 season, and Rodgers has struggled to the point of non -all in recent years.
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But it is summer, when everyone is tied for first place and optimism is high everywhere.
“I just want to be a leader here and transmit the knowledge I have of 20 years of experience,” said Rodgers. “Just try to join guys, get to know them, let them get to know me. And simply take advantage of the process. “
The victories will come, or they will not. The Steelers will display another season of 0,500 or Better, or they will not. Everything is in the air at the moment for Rodgers and Pittsburgh, but for the moment, mutual engagement is there.
“We are delighted that he is here. He is delighted to be here,” said Tomlin. “But we will not make daring predictions. We will simply roll up our sleeves and let the effort speak.”