NFL schedule makers may have tipped the Steelers’ hand with Aaron Rodgers following release of minor detail that many missed
Everyone was focused on the regular season schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the NFL schedule makers may have hinted at Aaron Rodgers’ return when releasing the preseason schedule.
Even amid the 2026 NFL schedule release, the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t escape the Aaron Rodgers noise. For one, the amount of primetime and standalone games for the Steelers, including a brutal Weeks 10-15 stretch, shows that the NFL thinks the Steelers will be pretty competitive.
But what about the preseason? While everyone was enamored with what happened in Weeks 1-18, and rightfully so, it was the preseason schedule that may have hinted at Rodgers’ return.
Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 schedule facts
- Steelers will be playing in their first-ever Paris game.
- Steelers will be playing their first ever black Friday game.
- Steelers will close the 2026 season against the Ravens again.
Steelers to play both of Aaron Rodgers former teams in 2026 preseason
Perhaps the NFL knows that it won’t only be a farewell tour for Rodgers, but a chance to say goodbye with the Steelers. The majority of Rodgers’ Hall of Fame Career was obviously spent in Green Bay, but as much as he would probably like to forget his time with the Jets, Rodgers was a part of Gang Green.
But in all seriousness, if the NFL didn’t think that the Steelers were going to be competitive, they wouldn’t have Pittsburgh in six standalone games. And because of that, it seems that the Steelers will have Rodgers. If the schedule makers and Rodger Goodell truly thought that one of the current trio of Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar was going to start, I’m not sure Pittsburgh is featured the way they are.
Now, if we want to talk about whether or not Rodgers is the best man for the job, that’s a whole other conversation and one that has gone on for the three months of the offseason, and that will continue through much of the summer.