As the football world awaits Aaron Rodgers’ decision regarding his future, many are getting impatient. It’s not just fans who are tired of waiting on what the future Hall of Famer will do, players are also getting antsy.
There are a few teams in the conversation when it comes to the four-time league-MVP quarterback, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had Justin Fields and Russell Wilson leading the offense last year.
On the latest episode of his Not Just Football podcast, Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward shared his thoughts on Rodgers’ decision-making process, saying he is “tired of talking about the quarterback situation.” The former first-rounder said he just wants to play football and is “ready to move on from free agency,” into what else the offseason has to offer.
Where Aaron Rodgers stands on list of players with highest career NFL earnings as decision looms Jordan Dajani Where Aaron Rodgers stands on list of players with highest career NFL earnings as decision looms “I ain’t doing that darkness retreat. I don’t need any of that crap,” Heyward said, referencing what Rodgers did to help make his decision ahead of joining the New York Jets. “Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don’t. That’s simple, that’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit, that’s the recruiting pitch. Pittsburgh Steelers — if you want to be part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back.”
Rodgers is reportedly waiting to hear from the Minnesota Vikings before making a decision. Another team linked to the 41-year-old is the New York Giants.
Rodgers’ decision will have a domino effect and the teams that don’t land him will be left still needing an answer at the most important position in today’s NFL.
This offseason, the Steelers signed Mason Rudolph, but no other major moves have been made at QB. Fields signed with the Jets and free agent Wilson has visited the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.
After not playing in 2023 due to an Achilles injury suffered four offensive snaps into the season, Rodgers finished last year with 3,897 yards passing, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
This offseason, the Baltimore Ravens made one major retention on offense and one major addition — and the player they retained is very excited about the player they added. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who re-signed on a three-year, $60 million contract, is fired up about the addition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“I mean I had a huge smile on my face when we signed D-Hop,” Stanley said, via ProFootballTalk. “You know what you’re getting with that guy. I think he’s a Hall of Fame-caliber wide receiver, and I still think he has a lot of good reps, years, seasons in him. And he’s a physical player, he’s a competitive player and I think he’s going to fit into our team really well.”
player headshot team logo DeAndre Hopkins BAL • WR • #8 View Profile Hopkins is certainly a Hall of Fame-caliber receiver. In his 12-year NFL career, Hopkins has caught 984 passes fort 12,965 yards, 678 first downs and 83 touchdowns — figures that rank second, first, first and third, respectively, among all players since he entered the league. He’s going to walk right into Canton with a gold jacket soon after he’s eligible to be inducted.
Whether he still has a lot of good reps, years, seasons in him is up for debate. Hopkins will be 33 years old in June, and he’s certainly slowed down in recent years — and especially last year.
He played in 16 games for the Titans and Chiefs last season, but totaled just 56 catches for 610 yards and five scores. His 38.1 yards-per-game average was by far the lowest of his career. Some of that was obviously due to the fact that he switched teams midseason, but he also was unable to get on the field consistently down the stretch of the year — even after he had been in Kansas City for an extended stretch. Hopkins played just 51% of all possible snaps with the Chiefs, and he didn’t top 37.5% in any of the team’s three playoff games, according to Pro-Football-Reference. He had three grabs for 29 yards on his eight postseason targets.
Longtime Cowboys backup QB Cooper Rush signing two-year deal to back up Ravens’ Lamar Jackson Garrett Podell Longtime Cowboys backup QB Cooper Rush signing two-year deal to back up Ravens’ Lamar Jackson His size and physicality likely make him an asset on contested catches and in the red zone, but the idea that he’s going to be the player he once was is pretty farfetched. Still, that type of player is one the Ravens haven’t had in recent seasons, so it makes sense for Stanley to be excited that they now have him on board.
The NFL has never held more than five international games in a single season, but that will be changing in 2025. The league will be making history by holding a total of seven international games during the upcoming season.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he’d like to eventually see 16 international games per season, so the league is already almost halfway to his goal.
The seven games will be played in five different cities, including three cities — Dublin, Madrid and Berlin — that will be hosting a regular-season game for the first time. The NFL has already announced the home teams for all seven games, but if you missed those announcements or if you just can’t remember who’s playing abroad, we’ve got you covered here.
We’re going to take a look at where the games are being played along with the home team in each game and who their possible opponent might be. When it comes to predicting the possible opponent for each game, the NFL has not scheduled any divisional games to be played outside North America since 2019. Although it’s possible we could see a divisional game this year, it’s now been six years, so we’re going to assume the league sticks with its new tradition of not sending divisional games abroad.
2025 NFL International games Location: London (Wembley Stadium) Home team: Jaguars Possible opponents: Texans, Colts, Titans, Chiefs, Chargers, Jets, Rams, Seahawks, Panthers Breakdown: The Jags are heading to London for the 12th time in 13 seasons. Although the Jags have played TWO games in London in each of the past two seasons, that’s unlikely to happen this year, because they’re not scheduled to play the other two London teams — the Jets or Browns — on the road. As for their possible opponent: The Rams haven’t played an international game since 2019, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them sent to London, although they will be hosting a game in Australia in 2026. The Seahawks could also make some sense: They played in Germany in 2022, but they haven’t played in London since 2018. Predicted opponent: Rams or Seahawks.
Location: London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) Home team: Browns Possible opponents: Steelers, Bengals, Ravens, Bills, Dolphins, Titans, Packers, Vikings, 49ers Breakdown: The Browns are headed to London for the first time in eight years. The last time they were in England came in 2017 when they played the Vikings. Although a rematch would make some sense, the Vikings went to London last year, so they’re probably out. The 49ers haven’t been to London since 2013, so they certainly feel like an option. The Titans also feel like an attractive option since they’ll be featuring the potential No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft (if they don’t trade the pick away). Predicted opponent: Titans or 49ers.
Location: London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) Home team: Jets Possible opponents: Patriots, Dolphins, Bills, Browns, Steelers, Broncos, Falcons, Panthers, Cowboys Breakdown: The Cowboys have only played one international game ever, which is tied with the Browns, Steelers and Commanders for the fewest in the NFL. The Browns and Steelers are playing an international game this year, so it won’t be surprising if the NFL also gives one to the Cowboys and Commanders. Most teams don’t want to lose a home game against the Cowboys, which is why they rarely play abroad, but it might make sense this year since 2025 could be a rebuilding season for Dallas. Predicted opponent: Cowboys or Panthers.
Location: Dublin (Croke Park) Home team: Steelers Possible opponents: Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Bills, Dolphins, Colts, Vikings, Packers, Seahawks Breakdown: There has been some speculation that the Packers will be headed to Ireland with the Steelers, but that’s certainly not a lock. If Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, there’s a zero percent chance that the NFL will send “Rodgers vs. the Packers” out of the country. If we get to April and Rodgers still hasn’t picked a team, the NFL will be in a precarious position, because they can’t wait on him forever. The Bills would be a sexy choice, but the Steelers likely won’t want to lose home-field advantage against a Super Bowl-contending AFC opponent, so they’ll almost certainly push to keep that game in Pittsburgh. This will be the first regular-season game ever played in Ireland. Predicted opponent: Packers or Seahawks.
Location: Madrid (Santiago Bernabéu Stadium) Home team: Dolphins Possible opponents: Bills, Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Chargers, Saints, Buccaneers, Commanders Breakdown: The mayor of Madrid recently revealed that this game will be played in November, but despite some internet speculation, he didn’t reveal who the Dolphins will be playing. Whenever the NFL puts a game in a new city for the first time, the league usually tries to schedule a splashy game and the Dolphins definitely have some splashy opponents on their schedule. Baltimore, Cincinnati and Washington would all make sense. The NFL will definitely want to feature the Commanders in several island games this year after their run to the NFC title game last season, and like we already mentioned, Washington has only played one international game in franchise history, so it seems likely there’s a good chance they’ll soon be getting another one. The Commanders could also play in Brazil, so if they’re not sent to Spain, they could end up in Sao Paulo. The first game in Spain would also be a perfect spot for a Joe Burrow vs. Tua Tagovailoa showdown. The Dolphins and Bengals are the only two teams in the NFL with a QB who makes over $50 million per year, PLUS two receivers who make over $28 million per year. Predicted opponent: Commanders or Bengals.
Location: Berlin (Olympic Stadium) Home team: Colts Possible opponents: Texans, Jaguars, Titans, Broncos, Raiders, Dolphins, Cardinals, 49ers, Falcons Breakdown: The NFL has been holding games in Germany since 2022, but this will mark the first time that Berlin has hosted one. The four previous games in Germany have all had one thing in common: They’ve featured teams from the same conference, so that makes it feel like the Colts will play an AFC team. If the NFL goes that route, you can cross off the Dolphins, because they’re playing in Spain, which leaves us two nondivisional AFC opponents. Predicted opponent: Broncos or Raiders.
Location: Sao Paulo (Corinthians Arena) Home team: Chargers Possible opponents: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Texans, Colts, Steelers, Eagles, Commanders, Vikings Breakdown: Like the first Brazil game, this matchup will be played on Friday in Week 1, so it’s a prime spot on the NFL schedule. If you take out the Chargers’ divisional opponents, there are really only three realistic options here. The Colts and Steelers are already scheduled to play an international game while the Eagles will be hosting the Thursday night opener, which eliminates them. So that leaves us with Minnesota, Washington and Houston. The Vikings have played in London in two of the past three seasons, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the NFL doesn’t let them leave the country this year. Predicted opponent: Texans or Commanders
Remember, the NFL could throw a curveball and put a divisional game in any one of these spots, but as we said, the league hasn’t scheduled a divisional game outside of North America in six years, so we made our predictions with the expectation that the league will stick to that formula.
The NFL is expected to announce the road teams in each international game, along with the full 2025 schedule, in May.
The Chiefs will be resting their starters in the season finale which could end up being really good for one player. With Patrick Mahomes resting, former Pro Bowler Carson Wentz will get the start against the Denver Broncos.
He signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs to backup Mahomes and now will get a chance to show what he can do. Wentz was one of the best quarterbacks in football at one point but now he is a backup.
Wentz will hit free agency after the season and a solid performance on Sunday certainly could help his chances. CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin predicted that he will end up signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers to backup Russell Wilson.
“Carson Wentz signs with the Steelers as Russell Wilson’s new backup,” Benjamin said.
That’s a pretty fair idea. The Steelers landed Wilson and Justin Fields for this season, but it would be a shock if both were to return in 2025. If the Steelers keep one, they will need a new backup. Wentz could be that guy.
The NFL released its roster for this year’s Pro Bowl, and the Denver Broncos have three players who made the starting lineup. That is exciting news for Broncos fans who have watched the team greatly improve this season.
For the third year in a row, Pat Surtain was selected and that should be a surprise to no one. Surtain has had a fantastic season and should garner at least some talk when it comes to the Defensive Player of the Year Award. While he is unlikely to win that, it does feel like he will be a perennial Pro Bowl selection for the rest of his career, much like Champ Bailey once was in Denver.
‘GMFB’ unveils LBs picked for 2025 Pro Bowl Games
Marvin Mims Jr. has played in the NFL for two seasons and he has made the Pro Bowl in each of them as the AFC’s return specialist. Though fans still want to see him become a star on the offensive side of the ball, Mims is doing great things as a kick returner.
Finally, Nik Bonitto was chosen as part of the Pro Bowl roster, a tremendously satisfying vote of confidence for the huge season he has had. Only three players in the NFL currently have more sacks than the 11.5 posted by Bonitto, who was chosen as one of three outside linebackers in the AFC. With the other two being T.J. Watt and Khalil Mack, it shows the great company that Bonitto is in.
How did Zach Allen get left off the Pro Bowl roster? As is the case in any year, there are going to be some snubs when it comes to the Pro Bowl. One of the most glaring snubs this year is that of Denver defensive lineman Zach Allen, who has turned in a fabulous season.
UNDERRATED: #Broncos DL Zach Allen is one of the best interior defensive lineman in the league.
27 QB hits (1st)
16 tackles for loss (1st)
73 pressures (2nd)
8.5 sacks (T-3rd)
32 solo tackles
Allen one of the most underrated players & should’ve been a Pro Bowler pic.twitter.com/wNUYlqVciF
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 2, 2025
Allen has put together the best season of his career and currently has 60 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He is coming off of a 3.5-sack game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but it left him short of his first career trip to the Pro Bowl.
The AFC has a talented defensive line going to the Pro Bowl, but Allen deserved a spot on that list. He was chosen as an alternate, as were several other Broncos players.
But Courtland Sutton has a chance to wrap up a great season for himself on a personal level.
The offseason was murky for Sutton, who was looking for the team to give him a slight bump in pay. He did skip voluntary mini-camp with the team but showed up for day one of training camp and never made a huge stink of his request for a healthier contract.
In June, the team chose to restructure his deal and give him the money he was looking for. Now, he has a chance to cash in even bigger.
Based on an incentive clause in his contract, if Sutton gets at least 82 yards receiving against the Chiefs, which would put him at 1,065 for the season, it would trigger a $2 million payment for Sutton.
It is highly likely that his teammates are aware of this and will be looking to help him hit that goal on Sunday. In addition, if Cody Barton could come up with an interception (giving him three on the season), that would pay him an additional $250,000.
Courtland Sutton could cap off a big season Sutton has been terrific for the Broncos this season, proving that he was worth a raise.
The No. 1 target for Bo Nix in the passing game has caught 76 passes for 983 yards and seven touchdowns. The 76 receptions are already a career-high for a single season and if he can get at least 17 yards on Sunday, he will have his second career 1,000-yard season.
Sutton has stepped up every time the Broncos have needed someone this season and it if the Broncos clinch a playoff berth, he will be playing in his first career postseason game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals released their final injury reports of the week ahead of their Week 18 showdown on Saturday and there’s a total of four players ruled out and another seven questionable between the two teams.
The only player listed as questionable for the Steelers is cornerback Donte Jackson, who popped up on the injury report on Wednesday with a back issue. Jackson, who was limited on Wednesday and Thursday, said he expects to play.
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It’s looking day-to-day right now,” he said, per Aaron Becker of Steelers Now. “Obviously, they don’t want me to force anything, but just staying on the treatments and try my best to be prepared and be ready to go.”
The three players ruled out for Pittsburgh were all designated to return this week. Wide receiver Roman Wilson and defensive lineman Logan Lee are both on injured reserve, while linebacker Cole Holcomb is on the PUP list.
“I feel really good,” Wilson told Becker. “My body feels better than it’s ever felt in a long time. Mentally … just focused, determined. I got a lot of expectations for myself.”
“It was bad,” Holcomb said of his knee injury, per Rob Gregson of AtoZ Sports. “I know there was that question [of never playing again]. But they just told me, ‘If you go to work and you can come back, you can be good…'”
Cincinnati has multiple key players on the offensive side of the ball listed as questionable in right tackle Amarius Mims, running back Chase Brown and wideout Tee Higgins.
Higgins was limited all week but followed the same path in Week 17 and in weeks prior before playing, so he’s expected to go. Head coach Zac Taylor characterized both Mims and Brown as game-time decisions. Mims was limited on Tuesday and Wednesday but sat out to close out the week. Brown didn’t log a single practice all week.
On defense, the Bengals will be without defensive end Sam Hubbard once again. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was a late addition to the injury report on Thursday but managed to turn in a limited practice.
The 24-year-old who originally entered the NFL through the International Player Pathway from Nigeria in 2022 with the Arizona Cardinals moved to the defensive side of the line with the Denver Broncos the following year.
Before the Patriots signed him, Ndubuisi spent the entire 2024 season on the Commanders’ practice squad,
New England now has two open roster spots, as they head into their Week 18 battle with the Buffalo Bills. There’s a chance that one of those spots will be taken by linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who has been designated to return from injured reserve. However, the other spot is completely up in the air.
When the NFL released the Pro Bowl rosters on Thursday, the omission of Detroit Lions star safety Kerby Joseph was glaring. After all, Joseph has arguably been the best safety in the league in 2024, so he deserved the nod.
Making Joseph’s snub more frustrating is the fact that it came as a result of the votes from players and coaches. We know that Joseph was the leading vote-getter among fans at free safety, so clearly he fell short with the other two groups, both of which also count as one-third of the vote.
When asked about the snub, Joseph took it all in stride. He admitted it was “crazy” to him, but added that he’s really worried about playing in the Super Bowl, which would prevent him from being in the Pro Bowl, anyway.
“I saw it and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy,'” Joseph said, per Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website. “But I wasn’t really too much worried about the Pro Bowl. I ain’t trying to be the in the Pro Bowl. I’m trying to be in that Super Bowl.”
“I feel like All-Pro is the real recognition that people give,” Joseph added. “I’m not really worried about it. I’m focused on the Super Bowl. I wasn’t going to go the Pro Bowl anyways.”
Joseph is well-deserving of All-Pro honors with the season he’s having, and one can even make the argument that he can be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
Joseph leads the NFL in interceptions, is tied for second in passes defensed among safeties, and he is tops in overall and coverage Pro Football Focus grades, and 13th in run defense. Joseph’s completion rate and passer rating allowed are second and seventh, respectively, among safeties who have played 80% of coverage snaps.
“He doesn’t need that as motivation, he knows that he’s a good player,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said of Joseph’s snub. “What he needs to know, he has nine interceptions, a ton of tackles, he’s made impact plays as we saw last week, and that was done on national TV. So, he doesn’t need that as motivation.”
The reason behind Joseph’s snub remains unclear. It’s hard to fathom that he was simply overlooked by his peers. Glenn inferred it has something to do with the dirty player label some have unfairly stuck him with, and it’s a logical explanation.
