The NFL is set to release the schedule on May 14, and the Packers figure to be among the most showcased teams on the national slate.
From Micah Parsons’ eventual return from a torn ACL, an exciting roster built around ascending quarterback Jordan Love, and some mounting pressure on head coach Matt LaFleur to guide Green Bay beyond the NFC Divisional Playoffs set the stage for a season’s worth of narratives for these Packers.
Packers vs. Bears rematch highly anticipated
Over at NFL Media, Eric Edholm put together a list of 10 games that have the chance to be the most compelling of the upcoming season, including the Packers’ first rematch against the Chicago Bears after a thrilling but devastating playoff lost back in January at Soldier Field.
“For several years prior,” Edholm writes of the Green Bay-Chicago rivalry. “The Packers had been the big brother in the rivalry, soundly dominating the series prior to 2025. Now Ben Johnson has given the Bears belief that they can be the big dogs in the relationship again, and in one season, he built an offense that everyone wants to watch.
“The timing of this game could be significant. There’s a chance the Packers could be without Micah Parsons or Tucker Kraft — or both — though GM Brian Gutekunst is optimistic that the two stars will return early in the 2026 campaign. Stacking the matchups later on (as the league did in 2025) might be the way to go. Both teams should be contenders again.”
Reading between the lines, the league could look to schedule both of the Packers’ games against the Bears sometime after the first six weeks or so of the season, in hopes of having both Parsons and Kraft on the field for Green Bay.
This will be the first schedule that the league will put together with Parsons on the Packers’ roster, and could look to maximize their availability to build some ratings juice in a showdown that suddenly carries plenty of national intrigue.