Aaron Rodgers' Steelers Return and 2026 NFL Schedule Breakdown

Three things to know about Aaron Rodgers' return to the Steelers, plus breaking down the 2026 NFL schedule

Here's everything you need to know about the NFL for May 18

By John Breech

May 18, 2026 at 1:06 pm ET • 16 min read

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Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I'm guessing you've probably heard by now, but in case you haven't: THE NFL SCHEDULE HAS BEEN RELEASED.

If you're wondering why I'm writing in all caps, it's because I drank 112 cups of coffee over the weekend trying to memorize every game on the schedule. So far, I've only  made it through the CBS games .

Anyway, we're going to go all-in on the schedule today. Well, maybe not all-in, because we're also going to talk about the return of Aaron Rodgers .

As always, here's your reminder to tell your friends to  sign up for the newsletter . Let's get to the rundown.

1. Aaron Rodgers back with Steelers: Three things to know about QB's return

The Aaron Rodgers drama is finally over in Pittsburgh: The 42-year-old quarterback will officially return for another season with the Steelers . Last year, Rodgers kept the Steelers guessing until June about what he was going to do, but this year, he didn't wait quite as long. The four-time NFL MVP agreed to a one-year deal over the weekend, and the timing couldn't have been better for the Steelers because they have their first official OTA on Monday.

Here's what you need to know:

- Rodgers signed a one-year deal and will get a raise. After making just $13.65 million last season, Rodgers will get a substantial raise for 2026. His base salary is expected to be between $22 million and $23 million, but he can make up to $25 million if he hits every incentive in his contract. At that price, Rodgers is a bargain. He'll rank as either the 17th- or 18th-highest-paid QB this year, depending on where his final salary number ends up. Rodgers wasn't perfect last year, but he did throw 24 touchdown passes while leading the Steelers to an AFC North title. Rodgers might be even better this year because the Steelers added several offensive weapons, including Michael Pittman Jr., Rico Dowdle and rookie Germie Bernard . - Rodgers will reunite with Mike McCarthy. Rodgers' first year as a starting QB came in 2008 under McCarthy in Green Bay. The two spent 13 seasons together and ended up winning a Super Bowl , which, ironically enough, came against the Steelers. During their time together in Green Bay, McCarthy and Rodgers went 98-55-1 and made it to three NFC title games. - Rodgers will be the oldest player in the NFL. Rodgers will turn 43 years old in December, and not many quarterbacks have done what he's been able to do. Rodgers has started five games since turning 42, which ranks third most in NFL history for a QB, behind only Tom Brady (66) and Vinny Testaverde (6).

Steelers owner Art Rooney wanted Rodgers signed by the time OTAs started and got his wish. Rodgers arrived at the team facility, so he might be around for the team's OTA today. The Steelers also have OTAs on May 20-21, May 26, May 28-29, June 8-9 and June 11-12. They'll also squeeze in their mandatory minicamp from June 2-4, which are the only practices Rodgers is required to attend.

If Rodgers doesn't attend every single one of those OTAs, that won't be an issue for McCarthy. A few weeks ago, he said those sessions are more important for younger players , so he'd be fine if Rodgers decided not to go.

Our resident Steelers expert, Bryan DeArdo, broke down why letting Rodgers return for another season was the right move for the Steelers , even if the fan base doesn't necessarily love it.

2. Most bizarre quirks on 2026 NFL schedule

After the schedule comes out each year, my favorite thing to do is comb through all 32 schedules to see if I can find some interesting quirks. Sure, that means I'm up for 17 straight hours after the schedule release so I can go through every team's slate of games, but the good news is that I found quite a few quirks, so it was time well spent.

Let's check out the six weirdest quirks on the schedule this year, starting with the Seahawks :

- Seahawks will play on six different days of the week. The Seahawks will have at least one game on every single day of the week except Tuesday, making them just the third team in 99 years to play on six different days of the week. The Seahawks will get a rare Wednesday game with their opener against the Patriots . In Week 15, they have a Saturday game against the Eagles , and they follow that up with a Week 16 game on a Friday against the Rams , which will fall on Christmas. And, of course, they also play on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Only two other teams have played on six different days in a single season. Back in 1927, the New York Yankees played on every day except Monday. In 2024, the Chiefs played on every day except Tuesday. The Rams and Packers could also end up playing on six different days if they get flexed to a Saturday game during this season. That could happen in Week 17 or 18 for the Rams. As for the Packers, they'll have a chance to play on Saturday in Week 18. - Patriots might get off to rough start. After getting the easiest schedule in the NFL last year, the Patriots will get an early reality check in 2026. Their first four opponents have a combined strength of schedule of .721, which is the highest any team has faced in the first four weeks in 40 years (1986 Eagles). To make things worse, the Patriots will have to play three of their first four games on the road (at Seahawks, vs. Steelers, at Jaguars , at Bills ). - Ravens set up for hot start. The Ravens will open the season with seven straight games against teams that finished under .500 last season, marking just the third time over the past 56 years that we've seen that happen. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the 1983 Falcons and 2025 Panthers are the only teams to open with at least seven games against sub-.500 teams. The Panthers ended up winning the NFC South last year. - Wild Wednesdays. For the first time in 78 years, the NFL will play on two different Wednesdays during the season. The NFL has held multiple Wednesday games in a season before, but those were played on the same day (Christmas 2024 was the last time we saw that). This year, there will be a Wednesday game in Week 1 (Seahawks-Patriots) and a Wednesday game in Week 12 (Rams-Packers). That marks the first time since 1948 that we're seeing action on two different Wednesdays. Fittingly, the Rams were also involved in the Wednesday games in 1948. - Home sweet home for Browns . The Browns are the only team in the NFL this year that will get to play four straight home games. From Week 10 (Nov. 15) through Week 14 (Dec. 13), the Browns play four home games, plus they have a bye sandwiched in there, so they'll go five weeks without leaving Cleveland. This will mark just the ninth time over the past 35 years that a team has been given four straight home games (2025 Titans , 2021 Ravens, 2020 Steelers, 2016 Raiders , 2016 Dolphins , 2016 Packers, 2015 Titans, 2008 Texans ). Of the previous eight teams to play four straight home games, six went either 4-0 or 3-1 during their homestand. The Titans are the only team that didn't finish above .500, going 0-4 in both 2015 and 2025, so the Browns just need to make sure they don't go full Titans during that stretch. - Jaguars will spend an entire month away from home. Due to their two London games, the Jags won't play a single game in Jacksonville during the month of October. The Jags will open the month with a game in Cincinnati in Week 4. After that, they'll head to London for two games (Eagles in Week 5, Texans in Week 6), and then they'll close out October with a bye in Week 7. This marks the first time in seven years that a team will go a full calendar month without playing a single home game. The last time it happened came in November 2019 when the Cardinals and Jags did it.

I actually found 21 crazy scheduling quirks, and if you want to see the full list, you can do that here .

3. Winners and losers from NFL schedule release

Garrett Podell sifted through all 272 games to figure out who came out of the schedule release as a winner and who came out as a loser. Here's what he came up with:

WINNERS

- Micah Parsons and the Packers. The league's schedule makers gifted Green Bay a relatively soft schedule during the first month of the campaign in which it is projected to be without its best defensive player. The Packers' first four games will be against squads -- at Vikings , at Jets , vs. Falcons, at Buccaneers -- that all missed the postseason a year ago. Three of the four also possess uninspiring quarterbacks, which is an ideal situation for a Parsons-less Packers defense. - Seahawks and their fans. To the victors belong the spoils. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks will play in seven stand-alone games, six of which will be in prime time. Of those showdowns, five will be in the friendly confines of Lumen Field in downtown Seattle in front of the crowd that brought the football world the "BeastQuake." Five prime-time home games tie an NFL record.

LOSERS

- Chargers . The Chargers might be the team that has the most difficult stretch on any of the NFL's 32 schedules in 2026. The Chargers have a seven-game stretch in which they will face the Bills, the Seahawks, the Broncos , the Chiefs, the Rams, the Texans and the Ravens. That group includes five teams that won playoff games in the 2025 season, and the two that didn't -- the Chiefs and the Ravens -- have multiple-time NFL MVP winners at quarterback. - Patriots. Despite winning the AFC in 2025, the NFL's schedule makers didn't do the Patriots any favors. In fact, New England's 2026 squad will become the first since the 2019 Dolphins to open a season with three consecutive games against division winners from the previous season. That's more division winners than its 2025 team faced all season.

If you want to see Podell's full list of winners and losers,  be sure to click here .

4. NFL schedule breakdown: One good thing and one bad thing on each team's schedule

The NFL spends a lot of time every year putting the schedule together, and although the league does its best to make sure every team is happy, making everyone happy is impossible when you're putting together a schedule that consists of 272 games.

With that in mind, I went through all 32 schedules to find one thing that should make each team happy and one thing it's probably irate about. Let's check out three teams:

RAIDERS

- One good thing: Besides the Raiders, there were three other teams that finished with 3-14 records last year (Jets, Cardinals, Titans), and the Raiders get to face all three of them. Basically, the Raiders have several winnable games on their schedule, and although they might not be a playoff contender, they should feel good about their chances of improving dramatically in Klint Kubiak's first year on the job. - One bad thing: It's bad enough the Raiders have to face Patrick Mahomes , Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford this year, but the NFL made it worse because the Raiders will face those three quarterbacks in a four-game span starting in Week 4. That's four MVP awards between the three quarterbacks, and to add insult to injury, the other game in that span is against the defending AFC champion Patriots. The Raiders will be lucky to win one of those four games. The Raiders also play all four conference title teams from last season (Seahawks, Rams, Patriots, Broncos) in a seven-week stretch starting in Week 5. Yikes.

RAMS

- One good thing: The Rams have a brutal schedule, but they do seem to have one soft spot, and that starts in Week 6 when they face the Cardinals. After that, they have consecutive games against the Raiders, Chargers, Commanders and Cardinals again. The Rams are probably going to need to sweep that stretch because, as we're about to cover, everything el

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aaron-rodgers-steelers-return-2026-nfl-schedule-breakdown/)._