The NFL schedule for the 2025 season was released on Wednesday night, and the Pittsburgh Steelers got four prime-time games slotted into their schedule.
This sparked speculation from NFL fans, with some wondering if the league knows more about the Steelers' quarterback situation than the fans do. The Steelers have yet to name their starting quarterback for the 2025 season as they still are waiting on Aaron Rodgers to make his decision about the upcoming season. Rodgers could still sport the black and yellow this fall, but nothing's for certain yet. Without Rodgers, longtime backup Mason Rudolph would be in line to start.
NFL scheduling executive Mike North refuted that speculation, expressing that the league doesn't know anything more about Rodgers than anyone else. He argued that the NFL gave the Steelers and Mike Tomlin those primetime slots, not just because Rodgers could be the quarterback.
“We tried to play it down the middle,” North said, via the Associated Press. “We don’t know anything more than than anybody else. The schedule was built for Coach Tomlin and for the Steelers. If Aaron decides to play, it probably just makes many, if not all, the Steelers games a little more interesting.”
The Steelers' Week 1 matchup happens to be against the New York Jets, the team that Rodgers played for over the past two seasons, leading to much of the speculation. Then, one of the Steelers' four primetime games will be against the Green Bay Packers, where Rodgers spent 18 seasons, on Sunday Night Football in Week 8. North said the league made sure to put this potential reunion for Rodgers in the national window, just in case. Without Rodgers, a Packers-Steelers game is still compelling, he says.
“If it fell on a Sunday afternoon, for instance, it becomes a dominant story of the day, Aaron’s first game against his old team,” North said. “So put it in a national window, if Aaron is the quarterback, it’s a great story. If Aaron’s not the quarterback, it’s still Packers-Steelers Sunday Night Football in Week 8. It sounds like a football game.”
The Steelers' other primetime games include Thursday Night Football vs. the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7, then SNF vs. the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 and Monday Night Football vs. Miami Dolphins in Week 15.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Exec. Addresses Rumors That Aaron Rodgers Impacted Steelers' Prime-Time Schedule.