NFL Believes Aaron Rodgers Will Sign With Steelers — Schedule Release Proves It

Aaron Rodgers remains a free agent, but those inside the league office believe they know where the four-time NFL MVP will play next season.

The NFL and its calendar gurus proved as much when it released the Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 schedule Wednesday night.

The Steelers open their season by traveling to the New York Jets, a game that will feature plenty of Week 1 storylines should Rodgers start behind center in Pittsburgh. Quarterback Justin Fields, who spent the 2024 campaign in Pittsburgh, signed with Gang Green this offseason after first-year head coach Aaron Glenn told Rodgers they no longer wanted him. Those types of stories write themselves.

Pittsburgh also has four primetime games on its schedule, including a late-October matchup against none other than the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, of course, spent 18 seasons in Green Bay before he joined the Jets. His departure was in large part because the Packers were ready for his heir apparent, Jordan Love. That also makes for a primetime-worthy storyline, as long as Rodgers is there.

“They’re (NFL) acting like they believe Aaron Rodgers is going to be the quarterback,” Mike Greenberg said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday morning.

Those two head-to-head matchups are enough evidence. But Pittsburgh’s four total primetime games seem to paint a pro-Rodgers picture, as well.

It’s not as if Pittsburgh has the most primetime slots — Chiefs (seven), Cowboys (six) — but they’re not at the bottom of the barrel either. Eight teams have two primetime games or fewer. If Mason Rudolph is behind center in mid-December when the Steelers host the Dolphins, football fans will be wishing Pittsburgh was the ninth.

The NFL, though, is putting a lot of eggs in the Rodgers basket. Surely, nothing will go wrong.

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