Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was asked Tuesday about him walking off the field in Jacksonville after last week’s preseason opener alongside 30-year-old edge rusher T.J. Watt and 36-year-old defensive tackle Cam Heyward.
The 41-year-old Rodgers said, at this point of his career, he “gravitates toward the old heads.”
In a much more literal sense, the same is true about Rodgers’ affinity for the old Schutt helmet he wore for several years but is now banned by the NFL.
The Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD didn’t meet the league’s new safety standards, so Rodgers has been practicing in the Schutt Air XP Pro VTD II.
To say he’s ticked off about the wardrobe change would be an understatement.
“I don’t like it, no,” Rodgers said Tuesday, per ESPN. “I’m trying to change. We’re in the process still. It looks like a damn spaceship out there.”
Rodgers added: “We got to change it. The face mask doesn’t fit the helmet because that’s an old face mask, obviously just like I’m old, but we’re trying to find the right helmet right now.”
Rodgers, known for sticking with a cloth, two-point chinstrap throughout his career despite equipment advances, first complained about the helmet in June at mandatory minicamp, not long after he signed with the Steelers on a one-year deal.
The four-time league MVP hasn’t tested his new helmet in a game yet. Rodgers, like several other seasoned starters on Pittsburgh’s roster, didn’t play against the Jaguars this past Saturday.
Even if Rodgers doesn’t suit up for a preseason game this year, he’s still going to get some meaningful reps against an opposing team before Week 1. That’s because the Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are holding a joint practice Thursday, two days prior to their exhibition in Acrisure Stadium.
“It’s good to go against a different team [because] … you get a chance to go against not-vanilla defenses,” Rodgers said Tuesday, per The Associated Press.
“So hopefully [Tampa Bay head coach] Todd [Bowles], he probably won’t show everything, but he’ll do some stuff to stress our protection and give us a chance to get some film to work on.”
