Aaron Rodgers Has One Wish About Steelers' Preseason Opener vs. Packers originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As Aaron Rodgers heads into his final NFL season, the opportunity to play at Lambeau Field would make for quite the sentimental moment for the future Hall of Famer — but the schedule didn't play out that way.
The Steelers' only meeting with the Packers comes in the team's preseason opener on Thursday, when both Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy will go up against their former team.
Even if he doesn't play, Rodgers wishes the circumstances of the matchup were different.
"I was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay, not just to get back at Lambeau one more time, but to head out to Chives for a dinner and maybe head out to Green Bay Country Club for a quick nine or something," Rodgers told reporters on Wednesday. "I was really hoping it was going to be in Green Bay, for a lot of reasons."
Instead, the Steelers are hosting the Packers. Fans figure to come out in droves for the first taste of football, but Rodgers clearly would have appreciated a quick stop in his old stomping grounds before the season gets underway.
Rodgers is expected to play at some point during the preseason, but it's more likely Drew Allar and Will Howard will see the bulk of snaps against the Packers as Rodgers watches and waits.
Here's what you need to know about Rodgers' history against the Packers.
Has Aaron Rodgers ever played the Packers?Packers faced the Packers for the first time in the regular season last year, when he and the Steelers lost to Green Bay on "Sunday Night Football."
Unfortunately for Rodgers, he never will get a homecoming game in Green Bay unless he reverses course and decides to play in 2027. The Jets didn't face the Packers in either of Rodgers' two seasons in New York, both when he was injured and when he was healthy, and the Steelers don't face the Packers this season.
The NFL schedule operates on a cycle, so the league can't simply schedule Rodgers to play at Lambeau Field.
Despite a rocky relationship with upper management at the end of his time in Green Bay, Rodgers would undoubtedly receive a loud ovation from the Lambeau faithful. That moment will have to wait until he's honored by the Packers in the years after he officially retires.
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