Aaron Rodgers is leaning into his final year, except when it comes to playing in the preseason

(AP) — There was a time when the preseason felt like the Super Bowl to Aaron Rodgers. While the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is trying to soak in every moment of what he says will be his 22nd and final NFL training camp, he doesn’t sound like someone who thinks he needs to be on the field when the Steelers host Green Bay in their exhibition opener on Thursday night. “It’s not real football,” Rodgers said.

At least, not “real” compared to what things will look like when the games start to count in September. The four-time MVP understands August is still a valuable time of year, just not for someone who has been in the league nearly as long as some of his teammates — backup quarterbacks Drew Allar (22) and Will Howard (24) — have been alive. “I think preseason football is good to see guys with pads on, under the lights, how they react to the nerves,” he said.

Nerves that Rodgers once had himself. He remembers running onto the field as a rookie with Green Bay in 2005 and trying desperately to keep his breathing under control. Back then, the goal was to make sure he could hear the play coming through the headset so he could repeat it with conviction in the huddle.

The challenge was then walking to the line of scrimmage and “trying to remember what else is going on in the play and who’s got what.” Those jitters eventually subsided. It took a while, but they’re long since gone. It’s why he feels the Steelers will be better served with Rodgers watching from the sideline with a headset on while Howard — who didn’t take a live snap last year after getting hurt early in camp — and Allar do the majority of the work.

Rodgers described the first game as traditionally “hectic,” one of many reasons his preference is to be in sweatpants offering perspective. “I like to be the voice of reason, tell the occasional dad joke or one-liner,” he said. “Just help everybody settle in a little bit.” Mike McCarthy, in his first season coaching his hometown team, played a little coy about whether he’ll ask Rodgers to see a little game action, though McCarthy might have tipped his hand a bit when he said he’d divide the offense into three groups.

One group will handle the first couple of series. The second will play until halftime, with the … He failed as much as he succeeded.Back then, the goal was to make sure he could hear the play coming through the headset so he could repeat it with conviction in the huddle.