Samwise NFL Newsletter
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Aaron Rodgers Agrees to 1-Year Deal, Returns to Pittsburgh Steelers for 22nd NFL Season
Aaron Rodgers will return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2026 NFL season, agreeing to a one-year deal worth up to $25 million, the Associated Press reported Saturday. The 42-year-old went 10-7 in his first Pittsburgh season, helping the Steelers win their first AFC North title since 2020 while completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Rodgers joins a revamped offense that added wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. via trade from Indianapolis and second-round rookie Germie Bernard. The team also hired Super Bowl-winning coach Mike McCarthy, who worked with Rodgers in Green Bay when the duo won a championship in 2011.
Sources: CBS Sports
Seahawks Host Patriots in Super Bowl Rematch to Open 2026 NFL Season on Wednesday, Sept. 9
The NFL released its complete 272-game 2026 regular season schedule on Thursday, headlined by a Super Bowl LX rematch: the defending champion Seattle Seahawks will host the New England Patriots on Wednesday, September 9, in an unusual mid-week season opener. The Wednesday kickoff accommodates the league's first-ever regular season game in Melbourne, Australia, set for September 10. New England enters having lost the championship by the narrowest of margins, while Seattle opens before a sold-out Lumen Field crowd aiming to cement its status as the league's dominant franchise. It marks only the third time in NFL history that the two Super Bowl participants have met to open the following season.
Sources: ESPN
NFL to Play Record Nine International Games in 2026 Across Four Continents and Seven Countries
The NFL will play a record nine regular season games outside the United States in 2026, spanning four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums. The international slate opens in Melbourne, Australia, on September 10, when the Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the league's first-ever contest on Australian soil. The Pittsburgh Steelers then travel to Paris for an October 25 matchup against the New Orleans Saints at Stade de France, the first regular season NFL game in France. Additional games are scheduled for Rio de Janeiro, three London matchups, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City across the 18-week season.
Sources: NFL.com
Christmas 2026 NFL Tripleheader: Packers-Bears, Bills-Broncos, Rams-Seahawks — Three Playoff Rematches
The NFL's 2026 Christmas Day slate features three playoff rematches from the 2025 postseason, airing across Netflix and Fox. Green Bay visits Chicago at Soldier Field at 1 p.m. ET on Netflix, followed by the Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET, also on Netflix, before the Los Angeles Rams close out the holiday in Seattle against the Seahawks on Fox at 8:15 p.m. ET. All three matchups replay games from the 2025 postseason, where the Bears, Broncos and Seahawks each advanced. Christmas falls on a Friday in 2026, giving fans an unusual holiday evening of prime-time NFL football spread across two streaming and broadcast platforms.
Sources: NFL.com
Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker Returns to Seattle as Chief in Week 7 Sunday Night Football Matchup
Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III will return to Lumen Field as a Kansas City Chief when the NFL's 2026 schedule delivers a Week 7 Sunday Night Football matchup in Seattle. Walker, who rushed for 313 yards and four touchdowns during the 2025 postseason in earning Super Bowl MVP honors, signed a three-year, $43.1 million deal with Kansas City after the Seahawks declined to re-sign him. Walker told reporters he knew during the season he would not return, saying the team rarely contacted his agent. Seattle will counter with veteran Zach Charbonnet and first-round rookie Jadarian Price in the backfield for the homecoming matchup.
Sources: NBC Sports
A.J. Brown Expected to Be Traded from Eagles to Patriots After June 1 Cap Deadline
The Philadelphia Eagles are widely expected to trade wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots after June 1, when the move becomes more cap-friendly. Trading Brown before that date would add $20 million to the Eagles' 2026 salary cap, while a post-June 1 deal reduces their dead-cap charge from $43.4 million to $16.4 million. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Brown will not be an Eagle when the season begins. Philadelphia has added receiver depth through the draft — selecting USC's Makai Lemon at No. 20 — and free agency, adding Hollywood Brown and Dontayvion Wicks. New England is the strong favorite to land the 28-year-old star.
Sources: CBS Sports
Patriots Face Three Straight Division Champions to Open 2026 — Toughest Early Schedule in Four Decades
The New England Patriots will face the most difficult opening stretch of any NFL team since 1986, CBS Sports analysis of the 2026 schedule found. New England opens with three consecutive opponents who won their divisions in 2025 — beginning with host Seattle in Week 1, then Jacksonville and Denver — a challenge unseen in the modern era. The Patriots enter as Super Bowl runners-up with Drake Maye recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in the AFC Championship Game. Maye has been cleared for full offseason participation, throwing without restrictions, with team officials confident the second-year quarterback will be ready for the September 9 rematch opener against the Seahawks.
Sources: CBS Sports
Bears Face NFL's Hardest Schedule in 2026 With Nine Games Against Last Year's Playoff Teams
The Chicago Bears enter 2026 facing the NFL's most difficult schedule based on opponents' combined 2025 records, per multiple analysts. Chicago faces nine games against last year's playoff teams and three opponents coming off bye weeks in a four-week stretch between Weeks 6 and 9. The Bears won the NFC North in 2025 and earned the conference's No. 2 seed before falling to Seattle in the divisional round, but now navigate a punishing first-place schedule without quarterback Malik Willis, who departed to Miami in free agency. Chicago drafted a young signal-caller with its top pick but faces steep odds defending its division title against an equally loaded NFC North.
Sources: ESPN
American Conference Divisions
AFC East
1. New England Patriots — 14–3–0
2. Buffalo Bills — 12–5–0
3. Miami Dolphins — 7–10–0
4. New York Jets — 3–14–0
AFC North
1. Pittsburgh Steelers — 10–7–0
2. Baltimore Ravens — 8–9–0
3. Cincinnati Bengals — 6–11–0
4. Cleveland Browns — 5–12–0
AFC South
1. Jacksonville Jaguars — 13–4–0
2. Houston Texans — 12–5–0
3. Indianapolis Colts — 8–9–0
4. Tennessee Titans — 3–14–0
AFC West
1. Denver Broncos — 14–3–0
2. Los Angeles Chargers — 11–6–0
3. Kansas City Chiefs — 6–11–0
4. Las Vegas Raiders — 3–14–0
National Conference Divisions
NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles — 11–6–0
2. Dallas Cowboys — 7–9–1
3. Washington Commanders — 5–12–0
4. New York Giants — 4–13–0
NFC North
1. Chicago Bears — 11–6–0
2. Green Bay Packers — 9–7–1
3. Minnesota Vikings — 8–9–0
4. Detroit Lions — 8–9–0
NFC South
1. Carolina Panthers — 8–9–0
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 8–9–0
3. Atlanta Falcons — 8–9–0
4. New Orleans Saints — 6–11–0
NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks — 14–3–0
2. Los Angeles Rams — 12–5–0
3. San Francisco 49ers — 12–5–0
4. Arizona Cardinals — 3–14–0
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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