Raven Country

Ravens Pad New Rival's Upcoming Revenge Tour

The AFC North welcomed a new big-name quarterback into the fold, but he likely has plenty of other teams on his mind outside of the Baltimore Ravens and his new contentious divisional rivals.
Henry Brown|
Dec 19, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; during Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws on the run during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Dec 19, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; during Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws on the run during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Ravens

AFC North teams play a specifically grungy brand of football. The defense is tough, the players are critically acclaimed, the weather is bad and the attitudes towards one another are worse.

The division-wide competitive attitudes the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns save for their bi-annual matchups are one of a kind, and one of the biggest names in the sport looks to shake everything up.

Aaron Rodgers ended his interminable free agency saga by finally announcing the next team he'd sign with, picking the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday after months of teasing.

The 4x MVP and surefire Hall of Famer is set to turn 42 during this upcoming season with his best days already in the rearview mirror, but the Steelers have made numerous recent playoff appearances seemingly in spite of their regularly subpar quarterback play. They're still likely to give the Lamar Jackson and the Ravens the same tough battles they always have, but Rodgers has more than just the loaded division ahead of him on his mind.

As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out, the NFL's schedule makers already devised a highly entertaining Steelers lineup of opponents with plenty of his past employers and present adversaries. He has six games to look forward to in Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland, but those are far from the only charged matchups to circle on the calendar.

He's set to kick off the revenge tour immediately with an opening weekend showdown at New York against the Jets, who were so sick of the aging Rodgers that they cut him within two years of signing the legend. He'll get to play host to a similar former friend in Week 8, when he'll stare down the team with which he once hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in the Green Bay Packers.

Between those two matchups are games against two teams who were rumored to be in the mix for Rodgers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings, each of which went in different directions. The vengeful quarterback is unlikely to forget those perceived slights, and is likely willing to let some historic punching bags off of the hook in the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions in the schedule's back end.

The Steelers aren't favored to be quite as good as many of the ones Rodgers used to haunt, but he's still a big enough name backed by a legitimate enough core and brand in the Steelers that it'll still make for must-see TV. The Ravens have a perfect chance to get in on the drama, and can now look forward to multiple duels between former MVPs in this upcoming season.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Henry Brown
HENRY BROWN

Henry covers the Washington Wizards and Baltimore Ravens with prior experience as a sports reporter with The Baltimore Sun, the Capital Gazette and The Lead. A Bowie, MD native, he earned his Journalism degree at the University of Maryland.

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