PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – When you’ve been a captain for a decade, it can be odd when a future Hall of Famer signs with your team and is named a leader as well. It hasn’t been odd at all between Cam Heyward and Aaron Rodgers.
For one, Heyward will let anyone know within ear shot that Rodgers is older than him. He even pointed out that he’s the oldest quarterback in the NFL during his meeting with reporters making sure any in the vicinity could hear it. It’s part of a growing relationship between the two.
“He’s always been about the team and you know whatever is misconstrued outside of there you know it's been fun to really just get to know him,” Heyward said. “He's been bought in since he's gotten here but you know we joke off the field but we do challenge each other and try to make sure the team we have the right pulse of the team.”
Rodgers remembers his first real outside of the building interaction with Heyward. It was on a Tuesday during the season and he got a text from Heyward that it was a big team function, a movie night at Cam’s house. Tuesday is usually a short night for Rodgers because the quarterbacks have to be in early to meet with Mike Tomlin Wednesday morning.
“So, I was like fine, I love team bonding, chemistry stuff,” Rodgers said. “I showed up. I see him and his son Cal, who we got to know during training camp. I'm like, Oh, cool. I’m looking around, I go, where's everybody?”
Rodgers was the only one there outside of Heyward’s family.
Recently there was another text about a movie night on a Monday. Rodgers was skeptical it was legit or another one-on-one. Other than that lack of communication, all other talk between the veterans has been great.
“I really appreciate his leadership,” Rodgers said. “He's a guy who knows how to use his voice at the right times, and his play has been stellar. He's got his hands on a lot of footballs that have been key kind of game changing plays for us.”
“He's a steady guy. I like to razz him from time to time, because I'm a little more, maybe chipper, would you say, in the mornings than he is. I'm really fortunate to play with Cam Hayward.”
“We kid and joke, but we enjoy playing these types of games,” Heyward said. “We enjoy the challenge week in and week out. You know, and I think we're all just trying to attain one goal. The main goal is just going 1-0 this week.”
There was a wonder about what signing Rodgers be like, not just from the outside, but inside the room. It’s another example of how easily Aaron Rodgers has fit in and the impact he has made.