It might not have been his primary motivator, but Aaron Rodgers will face both of his former teams in 2025 after signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 41-year-old opens the season against the New York Jets before facing Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers seven weeks later.

Rodgers spent 18 of his 20 professional seasons with the Packers, marking both meetings the first time he will play against a former team in the NFL. As Rodgers' former coach, LaFleur is excited for the matchup.

“I anticipated this,” LaFleur told reporters at his minicamp press conference. “It'll be a great challenge for us. We know what type of player he is and how good he is. I'm sure he'll be telling everybody all our signals, so we'll probably have to be playing that mind game with him a little bit.”

Rodgers played under LaFleur for four years — his final seasons with the Packers. Despite rumors of tension between the two, both repeatedly claim they had a positive working relationship. Rodgers claimed two of his four MVP awards with LaFleur, winning the trophy in 2020 and 2021.

LaFleur is the only active head coach for whom Rodgers played. The decorated quarterback spent most of his career with Mike McCarthy, who was let go by the Dallas Cowboys early in the offseason. He also played for Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich on the Jets, who are both now defensive coordinators after unsuccessful tenures in New York.

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Packers-Steelers matchup gets prime-time treatment

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin looks in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC wild card game at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Once Aaron Rodgers made his Steelers signing official, the league responded accordingly. With Rodgers still one of the biggest draws in the league, Pittsburgh now has four prime-time matchups, not including its featured Week 4 game against the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.

Unsurprisingly, Rodgers' return to Green Bay in Week 8 earned one of those prime-time slots. The drama-filled matchup will be featured on the Oct. 26 edition of Sunday Night Football. Regardless of how either team's early season goes, the matchup will generate attention solely for its nostalgic value.