Future first-ballot Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers still has to decide if he wants to suit up for the 2025 season or call it a career and retire. If Rodgers elects to return, all signs point toward him signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If Rodgers does decide to return for another season and play for the Steelers, he’ll be in four nationally televised games as things currently stand.
Mike North, the NFL’s VP of broadcast planning, gave a shot at explaining the league’s philosophy even though Rodgers is currently unsigned.
“Look, you know as much as we know, if we knew anything definitive — look, the last couple of years, Aaron Rodgers’ first game with the Jets and his second first game with the Jets, those were both in primetime windows,” North told Kay Adams on Up & Adams on Thursday, per Awful Announcing.
“I think if we knew anything for certain, you might’ve seen a Steelers game in primetime in Week 1.”
“We don’t know anything more than you do. At worst, Steelers-Jets is Justin Fields against his old team,” North added. “At best, it’s Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers playing against their former homes. The Steelers’ schedule, obviously, only gets more interesting if a future Hall of Fame quarterback decides to play, but they’re still the Steelers.
“And, you know, [Mike Tomlin] has never had a losing season; they’re always in the playoff chase down the stretch. Steelers-Packers still sounds like a football game, like Howard Katz would say.
“I don’t think we overindulged on the Steelers. I think their record warrants some national television exposure and their national fanbase. Look, those games only get more interesting if Aaron decides to play again.
“What do any of us know? But I live in New York. I watched most of his games last year. He still looks like Aaron Rodgers to me. He doesn’t seem like a guy ready for retirement. So, when we know, we’ll see what happens.”
If Rodgers does decide to come back, it’ll be interesting to see if he can recapture the glory from before his brutal Achilles injury that he suffered in his first season (series) with the New York Jets.
