Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy can't seem to agree on a simple question heading into Thursday's preseason opener: does Aaron Rodgers actually want to play?

McCarthy has asked his 42-year-old quarterback to log somewhere between 30 and 40 combined snaps across the Steelers' first two preseason games, against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday and the New York Jets the following week, according to NFL.com's reporting on the plan. Rodgers' own comments on the matter have told a different story.

Mixed Signals

"I said, 'Mike, if you want me to play, I'll play. I'm not saying I want to do it,'" Rodgers told reporters this week, a comment that stood in contrast to McCarthy's public framing of the situation. "We've been talking about playing or not playing since he signed," McCarthy said Tuesday morning. "I mean, he prefers to play" — a characterization Rodgers did not exactly echo when he called joint practices "not real football" and a "waste," according to Yardbarker's account of his remarks.

The dynamic carries extra weight because this is expected to be Rodgers' final NFL season — he has confirmed he plans to retire after this year — and because it was McCarthy's arrival in Pittsburgh, reuniting a pairing that dates back to their Green Bay days, that reportedly persuaded Rodgers to return for one more year at all.

"IT COMES DOWN TO MY DECISION," MCCARTHY SAID OF HOW MUCH RODGERS WILL ACTUALLY PLAY.

Rodgers has long been skeptical of preseason football's value for veteran quarterbacks, a position shared by plenty of NFL players who see exhibition snaps as unnecessary injury risk. McCarthy, for his part, has framed reps with the first-team offense as valuable timing work regardless of the opponent or stakes.

What's Next

The Steelers open their preseason Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium against Green Bay, with McCarthy expected to make a final call on Rodgers' workload closer to kickoff. Pittsburgh's exhibition slate wraps up Aug. 27 against Buffalo before the regular season begins Sept. 9.