Rookie RB Defends Aaron Rodgers in Powerful Message: “You Follow the Guy Who Carries the Weight”

The Steelers’ 2025 Training Camp had its usual noise: fresh rookies, playoff hopes, and questions about aging stars. But like clockwork, that noise found its way to one man — Aaron Rodgers.

He hasn’t played a regular-season snap yet in Pittsburgh. But that hasn’t stopped the national chatter: Is he too old? Can he lead this locker room? Why risk the future on a legend nearing the end?

Inside the Steelers facility, though, a different tone is starting to rise. And this week, it came from an unexpected voice.

Kaleb Johnson, a rookie running back out of Iowa, stunned reporters after practice when he stood tall and called out the narrative surrounding his veteran QB — not with bravado, but with clarity, and with heart.

“People forget how heavy it is to carry a franchise, a city, and every expectation that comes with it,” Johnson said.
“Rodgers doesn’t complain. He doesn’t deflect. He teaches, he leads, and when things don’t go perfect, he carries it so we don’t have to. That’s leadership. That’s who we follow.”

For a rookie yet to play a single NFL down, Johnson’s voice landed like a veteran’s. Coaches listened. Teammates nodded. A moment of silence followed his words — not because they were dramatic, but because they were true.

Rodgers, when asked, simply smiled.

“That’s a good young man,” he said. “This team has the right energy.”

It’s no secret Rodgers is nearing the twilight of his Hall of Fame career. But that doesn’t mean the fire’s gone. And in a locker room often filled with egos and uncertainty, loyalty from a rookie like Johnson shines brighter than any stat sheet.

He may not be starting yet. He may not even make every 53-man projection.

But this week, Kaleb Johnson did something veterans often hesitate to do — he stood behind his quarterback.

And in doing so, he reminded everyone: in Pittsburgh, loyalty still has a voice.