Browns defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t the only AFC North pass rusher looking for his first career sack of Aaron Rodgers this season.
Ravens edge rusher Kyle Van Noy has spent time with five different teams while picking up 55 career sacks, but has never dropped the new Steelers signal caller for a loss. During an appearance on NFL Network, Van Noy recalled a game against the Packers from when he was with the Lions early in his career that he will be using as fuel in Baltimore’s two meetings with Pittsburgh this season.
It came when current Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was running the defense in Detroit.
“For whatever reason, the D-coordinator, who’s actually the D-coordinator of the Steelers, wanted to go Cover-0 all game against Aaron Rodgers,” Van Noy said. “He caught us. We’re like, ‘Oh, we gotta run it.’ Ended up scoring a touchdown to Jordy Nelson. He ended up walking by and kind of tapped me on my butt, like, ‘Nice try.’ So I gotta get him back for that. That’s been there for 10 years.”
Rodgers was sacked 40 times while playing for the Jets last season, but Van Noy doesn’t think that’s a sign that he will be easy pickings again this year.
“I still feel like he’s slinging the ball around,” Van Noy said. “He has the confidence of anybody, and especially being a four-time MVP of the league. He’s coming into the Steelers, who are ready and primed to have a guy at the helm, at the quarterback position, to take them to where they want to go. I feel like they have a good offensive coordinator with Arthur Smith, who’s gonna get back to that ground and pound. I’m excited to see Aaron Rodgers under center to see if he likes it or not.”
Van Noy and Garrett will have plenty of company when it comes to wanting to plant Rodgers in the ground during the 2025 season and the quarterback’s ability to avoid those rushers in a Steelers uniform will be a major storyline once the regular season is underway.
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