How Aaron Rodgers' uncertain Steelers future could be annoying the NFL

As of the morning of May 4, it continued to seem like a lock that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will soon re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers to be their starter for the 2026 NFL season. 

Meanwhile, John Breech of CBS Sports shared over the weekend that the full schedule for the upcoming campaign may not be released until the week of May 18. On Sunday night, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk touched upon how Rodgers' uncertain future may be impacting when the schedule will be made public. 

Why NFL likely wants to know Aaron Rodgers' Steelers decision sooner rather than later

"Another wildcard is Aaron Rodgers," Florio wrote about the schedule-release date being unknown. "If he decides to return to the Steelers for another season, Pittsburgh becomes a more attractive candidate for prime-time games. If Rodgers doesn’t return, the Steelers have less sizzle."

According to multiple reports, at least some people within the Steelers expect to have Rodgers re-signed for when OTAs begins on May 18. From there, Rodgers could participate in springtime workouts and be part of the Steelers' mandatory minicamp that is scheduled to run from June 2-4.

Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy was previously Rodgers' head coach when they were employed by the Green Bay Packers for over a decade earlier in their careers. While Rodgers is familiar with McCarthy's offense, McCarthy may want the future Hall of Famer to spend some time helping others inside the locker room learn the coach's system before Steelers players begin their summer breaks. 

How late could the 2026 NFL schedule release come?

"It’s hard to imagine the schedule coming out any later than the third week in May," Florio added. "The fourth week in May ends with Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. Whenever the schedule is released, the fans want to know so that they can make plans as to the games they’ll attend. And the networks want to be able to fully market their individual schedules to advertisers, especially with the traditional network upfront presentations happening during the week of May 11."

If it's true that Rodgers plans to officially rejoin the Steelers on May 18, the full schedule could be released on either May 20 or May 21. For now, network executives will hope that backup Mason Rudolph, 2025 rookie Will Howard or 2026 third-round draft pick Drew Allar isn't atop the Pittsburgh depth chart when the club's schedule is made public later this month.