With a 2026 schedule loaded with national attention, the NFL didn’t exactly hide how it feels about the Pittsburgh Steelers. The slate includes four standalone games in a five-week stretch and the league’s first-ever game in Paris. That kind of placement says plenty.
The Steelers are already one of the NFL’s most reliable TV draws, but ESPN’s Brooke Pryor pointed out that this schedule also shows the league bet big on Aaron Rodgers being back under center.
Rodgers had not yet signed his one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh when the schedule was compiled and eventually released. As Pryor wrote, that made the schedule feel like a “gamble,” especially with so many of the showcase games coming after the Steelers’ Week 9 bye.
Rodgers stayed mostly healthy last season outside of a broken wrist, but he will turn 43 in December. That’s considerable for a team trying to build momentum under Mike McCarthy. The Steelers may be must-watch television, but the league’s plan only works if Rodgers is still upright and playing well when those primetime games arrive.
The NFL expects Pittsburgh to be one of its headline teams again. Now the Steelers must prove the gamble was worth it.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Aaron Rodgers’ Steelers return fuels NFL’s primetime gamble