Although he didn’t have the largest impact in Pittsburgh, former Steelers WR Adam Thielen helped stabilize the wide receiver room late last season. He finished his Steelers tenure with 11 receptions for 117 yards in the final stop of his NFL career. But it wasn’t a stress-free ride into the sunset. Thielen detailed what it was like working with Aaron Rodgers while co-hosting The Players’ Point on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“It’s the most stressed I’ve been in my entire career,” Thielen said. “I felt like I was a rookie again. You kinda like, I don’t know what he’s gonna say, and I hope I know what he says, cause if I don’t, I’m gonna get my butt chewed and I’m never gonna get the ball. So I better lock in every second of every day, or he’s gonna rip me apart.”
Despite the stress, Thielen said Rodgers’ attitude is positive and conducive to winning.
“It’s a good thing; it’s why he’s had a lot of success. Because he demands so much out of everybody. And everybody’s the same. Whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, whether you’ve caught a million balls from him or zero.”
On Christian Kuntz’s podcast earlier this year, Thielen talked about how Rodgers can make things tough on teammates in practices and games.
He reiterated on The Players’ Point what he said on Good Morning Football last month: Rodgers treats every practice like it’s the Super Bowl.
It might sound like Thielen didn’t have the best experience with Rodgers. But from one veteran to another, he saw how maniacal attention to detail and preparation improved Rodgers and the team. He called playing with Rodgers “so worth it” and described how he embraced the team despite it being his first season with the Steelers.
“It was incredible being in the league that many years and still kind of like going out of his way to have guys over to his house and throw a Halloween party or Christmas party, ugly sweater party. Those are things you can expect out of a guy that’s maybe year five through 10, but a guy who’s been in it a long time and been with a lot of successful teams, for him to continue to do that and to dive in, I think it says a lot about how much he cares about his teammates, how much he cares about Pittsburgh and trying to win for them.”
It’s no surprise that Rodgers’ teammates wanted him to return this season. While he may be demanding, he’s still one of the best quarterbacks ever and someone who bonds with his teammates off the field. As Thielen said, it’s uncommon to see that from someone who has played as long and is as accomplished as Rodgers.
It may be stressful on the field, but veteran players like Thielen know it’s all for the better. Everything Rodgers does seems to prove just how good of a teammate he is.
