At long last, Aaron Rodgers has rewarded the Pittsburgh Steelers for their patience, finally agreeing to join the six-time Super Bowl champs on Thursday, thus ending months of uncertainty surrounding the four-time NFL MVP's football future.
Once his two-year tenure with the New York Jets came to a close—check that, his one-year and four-play tenure—Rodgers was linked with several franchises. For a hot second, it looked like he had a decent shot of taking the full Brett Favre career path by joining the Minnesota Vikings, only for the Vikes to hand the future of the franchise to young J.J. McCarthy.
All of the other teams moved on as well, except for Pittsburgh, of course, who took a big risk in letting both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields walk but were clearly confident that Rodgers would delay retirement and spend at least one season in the Steel City.
And for the time being, that's the agreement, as the 10-time Pro Bowler inked just a one-year contract. But what a year it'll be, as, for the first time ever, Rodgers will face the Green Bay Packers when his former team travels to Pittsburgh for the Week 8 Sunday Night Football matchup on October 26.
While every game matters in one way or another, this one carries a bit more weight, just as there was when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers version of Tom Brady faced off with the New England Patriots for the first time a few years back.
But it's not only because Rodgers is squaring off with the team that employed him for 18 years. There's also the matter of the 41-year-old being able to make a little NFL history on this upcoming October night by becoming just the fifth quarterback to defeat all 32 current franchises.
And there's no question that Matt LaFleur & Co. would love to deny Rodgers a spot in the record books. It's unfortunate that this game is being contested in Pittsburgh and not at Lambeau Field, but the significance is certainly still there.
Brady was the most recent to accomplish the feat when his Bucs knocked off the Pats in Foxborough in October 2021, also on Sunday Night Football. With that historic win, TB12 joined Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and, of course, Brett Favre, who became the very first member of this exclusive club when he led the Vikings to a 30-23 victory over Green Bay on October 5, 2009.
So, be sure to circle October 26 on your calendars, Packers fans. It's going to be a wild night.