If Aaron Rodgers was looking a little pale before Pittsburgh’s playoff loss to the Texans, it wasn’t because he was about to face the best defense in the NFL.
As explained by Mike Silver of The Athletic, Rodgers was sick before the 30-6 home loss to Houston in the wild-card round.
“I wasn’t feeling good, and I actually came over to the team hotel, and they sent me home — probably because I was pale and looked like shit,” Rodgers told Silver on Saturday from training camp.
Silver said Rodgers’s symptoms included fever and vomiting. He insisted that he had recovered before kickoff.
“He’s definitely downplaying it,” former Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith told Silver. “There was never a question he was gonna play, and he’s never one to complain, but he looked terrible [before the game].”
It’s not a great look nearly six months after the game, because the Steelers didn’t disclose that Rodgers had an illness.
Against the Texans, Rodgers completed 17 of 33 passes for 146 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. His passer rating was a postseason career-low 50.8, with his final throw turning into a pick-six.
Smith knows all too well the potential consequences of failing to disclose an illness. In 2023, Smith received a $25,000 fine (the Falcons separately had to fork over $75,000) for not disclosing that running back Bijan Robinson was ill on the morning of a game. (Robinson played in the game.)
And so, in a week that has caused plenty of commotion regarding things Rodgers said publicly, what he (and, more specifically, the Steelers) failed to say before the playoff loss could cause a bit of a ruckus, as far as the league office is concerned.
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