PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers hasn’t played a preseason game since the 2018 season, and the Green Bay PackerWs don’t intend to let him do so again this summer.

But Tom Brady, at age 44, played the opening series last week for the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees each played in the preseason during their latter years in the league, however limited their appearances.

And the Steelers do not have any reservations about using quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the preseason, at least for a cameo appearance. He will make his first and only appearance Saturday night at Heinz Field against the Detroit Lions — his first chance to employ some of Matt Canada’s new offense in an actual game setting.

“I think Ben is right where he wants to be,” said Canada, the team’s first-year offensive coordinator. “He’s playing very well. He’s worked extremely hard to bring along the many young guys up front, working with them. We’ve got a young guy in the backfield. We’ve got a young guy at tight end. He’s certainly had some rapport with those guys on the edge. They don’t have a lot of years.”

It has been the usual preseason blueprint for years for Roethlisberger, who sits out the first two games and plays less than a half in the third game. He will not play again until the Steelers open the season Sept. 12 in Buffalo.

But does Roethlisberger, who is 39 and entering his 18th season, really need to play in the preseason?

Not having a preseason in 2020 didn’t appear to have any negative effect on Roethlisberger, even with him coming off major elbow surgery. He threw 11 touchdowns with just one interception in his first five games of the regular season and had thrown 25 touchdowns with six interceptions during the team’s 11-0 start.

This, though, might be different. Canada is the fifth offensive coordinator Roethlisberger has had with the Steelers, but the change in offense, particularly the terminology, is the most drastic he has had to learn since coming into the league.

“If he was in the same system of offense that he’s been in, he probably wouldn’t play,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “But we think it’s good for him to get in the stadium, communicate with Matt, and do some of the things the quarterback has to do from a dry run perspective before we step in a regular season stadium.”

To get him ready, the Steelers gave Roethlisberger a number of extended reps in practice this week.