At this point, with over two decades of NFL experience under his belt, there's little reason for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to play in a preseason game. As such, for the second straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers veteran signal-caller, who is entering his last season in pro football, will once again not play. This time, he'll miss a Friday night matchup with the New York Jets. Neither will Rodgers' backup, Mason Rudolph. Rodgers himself isn't a big fan of preseason repetitions because, in his opinion, they don't mimic real games or offer genuine learning opportunities. This is particularly the case with experienced quarterbacks. Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy echoed this sentiment when explaining why Rodgers won't play against the Jets while guys like rookie Drew Allar and Will Howard will, in fact, get more time. More from ESPN's Brooke Pryor:
"They're young," McCarthy said Wednesday in explaining his decision to play [Will] Howard and [Drew] Allar over the veterans. "Will didn't get to play last year. ... I have some veterans I feel really good about, obviously with Aaron [Rodgers] and Mason [Rudolph]. I saw what I needed to see from Mason last week. I've talked highly about Mason really since the spring. So I really want to max out the opportunities with both Will and Drew. ".. We've got two games here, and I want to see those guys play as much as possible and we'll continue as we have all camp. "
Yes, the Steelers are focused on trying to maximize Rodgers' last season. But they have a future to prepare for, too. What better, low-stakes way to prepare for the future than by using preseason snaps against live competition? This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn't Aaron Rodgers playing against the Jets?
