Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ schedule was not favorable. Specifically, the last few weeks of the year were brutal for them. Forced to play three games in 11 days, the Steelers got little rest to end the year. That fatigue was apparent, too, with Pittsburgh losing its final four regular-season games. This year, there’s some hope that their schedule won’t be as bad, but Chris Simms thinks that the Steelers’ potential signing of Aaron Rodgers could give them another brutal stretch.

“I think the Steelers are gonna get screwed by it this year,” Simms said Monday on Pro Football Talk. “I think it’s gonna be that. This is something where I think the NFL would call the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“First of all, [Art Rooney II] came out on TV and was like, ‘Yeah, we expect him to be here. We think he’s coming here. He does want to be here.’ He certainly put more pressure and made you think that it was going to happen.”

While Rodgers isn’t the same player he once was, his name still carries a lot of weight. Likewise, the Steelers’ brand is one of the biggest in the league. Combined, the two of them likely become one of the most interesting stories in the league. The NFL would likely want to put a lot of eyes on that union. The Steelers are scheduled to face some quality teams, too.

A few weeks ago, Rooney sounded confident that the Steelers would sign Rodgers. While there haven’t been any significant updates since then, no other better opportunities have opened up for Rodgers. The New Orleans Saints need a quarterback, but it doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Rodgers. If he wants to play in 2025, Pittsburgh seems like his best choice.

That might cause the NFL to assume that Rodgers is going to sign with the Steelers. Therefore, the league could structure the Steelers’ schedule like he’s already on the team. Simms speculated on what that could look like.

“I think we’re gonna see Pittsburgh, early season, there’s gonna be showcase games for the Steelers,” he said. “Because they’re gonna say, ‘Let’s get Rodgers early on with the Steelers in case it falls apart late or he gets hurt.’ They’re gonna do that, like we saw with the Jets.”

Rodgers is 41 years old, so there’s no telling if his body will hold up through the course of an entire season. He played every game in 2024, but the year before, a torn Achilles took him out for basically the entire year.

The NFL likely wants to build the schedule to limit the chances of Rodgers missing some of marquee matchups. It might also put the Steelers in several primetime spots to begin the year. There are a few games on their schedule that would become much more interesting if they sign Rodgers.

First and foremost is their game against the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers’ old team. He’s yet to play them since leaving, so there’d be a lot of buzz around that matchup. The Steelers also face the New York Jets, the team that just released Rodgers. He might not be the biggest fan of Aaron Glenn, the Jets’ new head coach, so that game could provide some fireworks.

Other notable matchups could be games against the rest of NFC North, who Rodgers terrorized for years, as well as the Buffalo Bills, one of the best teams in the league. Pittsburgh’s AFC North games will always be valuable, too.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Steelers’ first few games placed in primetime spots against notable opponents. Last year, the front of the Jets’ schedule included two Monday night games, a Thursday night game, a game in England, and one Sunday night game. It’s possible that the Steelers are in for something similar, especially considering that they’re already scheduled for an overseas game.