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6 hours ago
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The fact that the NFL schedule release has become a huge offseason event speaks to the league's popularity with fans. Both and league and its teams try and go all-out during the release, adding humor, controversy and drama to an event that would otherwise be mundane.
Well, now the NFL schedule release also has conspiracy theories.
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NFL Network's own Rich Eisen engaged in some major speculation following the schedule release Wednesday night. While appearing on the network, Eisen suggested the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 opponent was a massive clue the NFL expects Aaron Rodgers to sign with the team.
Eisen's reasoning was pretty simple. The Steelers are playing the New York Jets in Week 1. If Rodgers signs with the Steelers, it would represent a revenge game for the 41-year-old, who was cut by the Jets in the offseason.
While that alone is pretty tantalizing, it doesn't tell the entire story. The Jets-Steelers Week 1 matchup already is a revenge game. After starting six games with the Steelers last season, Justin Fields signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Jets in the offseason. He's going to be the team's starter in 2025.
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Additionally, Rodgers' return to New York in Week 1 would be a pretty big storyline, one the league might deem worthy of a prime-time slot. That's not how it's scheduled. The Steelers and Jets will square off as part of the 1 p.m. ET slate in Week 1. The two teams will have to share the attention with 14 other franchises at that time.
That's exactly the argument the NFL's schedule guru made when discussing the contest. Mike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling, spoke with CBSSports.com's Jonathan Jones about the 2025 NFL schedule, and said the league would have made a bigger deal about Rodgers' return to New York if it knew he was signing with the Steelers.
"You'll see Pittsburgh at the Jets are on CBS at 1 o'clock in the afternoon in Week 1 along with seven other NFL games all at the same time. I think if the league knew, we probably would've scheduled that game for a national television window. So at worst, it's Justin Fields against his old team. At best, it's Aaron Rogers going up against one of his old teams. Look at what we did with Aaron Rogers' first game the last two years (both Monday night games). If we knew something, I think you would've seen it reflected in the schedule. That being said, still a good game."
North has a point. The league has pushed Rodgers into the spotlight in recent seasons. His first game with the Jets took place on "Monday Night Football" in 2023. Rodgers played just four snaps in that contest due to a torn Achilles. The following season, the Jets once again opened on "Monday Night Football." This time, Rodgers was returning from the injury and playing the team that passed on him at No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft.
In both instances, the league put storylines involving Rodgers front and center. That won't be the case in Week 1 this year.
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You don't exactly need conspiracy theories to connect Rodgers and the Steelers. The two sides have courted each other all offseason. Rodgers met with the franchise back in March, and Rodgers threw with newly-acquired Steelers wideout DK Metcalf around the same time. Despite a massive need under center, the Steelers stayed patient in the 2025 NFL Draft, waiting until the sixth round to select Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.
Unless the Steelers really intend to go into the 2025 NFL season with Mason Rudolph as their starter, the team is likely to bring in another quarterback before the offseason is over. Rodgers is the most logical option on the market. The NFL is definitely aware of that, and may have even considered it when scheduling the Steelers' Week 1 opponent.
That doesn't mean there's some vast conspiracy afoot, it means the league exercises some intelligence when making its schedule.
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