One day to go! The 2026 schedule drops Thursday night, to be preceded by leaks as the member clubs receive it from the NFL. NFL Nerd has the slate of nine International Games:  Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com breaks them down: The NFL schedule will feature a record nine international games this season. There will be more on the way in future seasons, too. The NFL is venturing to new countries. There will be a Week 1 game in Australia and a game later in Paris. The NFL continues to expand its reach, and it will continue to add international games in the future. And on the whole, this could be the strongest group of games the NFL has scheduled for the international series, with many playoff teams from last season and some of the league’s marquee franchises being a part of it. As the NFL keeps grow its international series, here’s a rundown of the nine games we’ll get this season from outside of the United States: Week 1: San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, AustraliaThe NFL had to adjust its opening game in Seattle to Wednesday to accommodate this historic game in Australia, which will be streamed by Netflix. It’s the first game ever in Australia for the NFL and will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was established in 1853 and has a capacity of about 100,000. This game will take place on Thursday of Week 1 and is a great matchup not just between NFC West rivals but two of the better teams in the league. Both made the playoffs last season. Week 3: Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilIt has been a while since the Cowboys got roped into the international series. Their last international game was 2014 in London against the Jaguars. It’s an interesting game between two marquee teams that were down and missed the playoffs last season but are expected to bounce back this season. Given the star power of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Cowboys as a whole, this is a fun matchup. Unlike many of the other international games that kick off early, this will be part of the late-afternoon time slot kicking off at 4:25 p.m. Eastern.(by CBS) Week 4: Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Commanders in London, England NFL NETWORKThe Commanders are going overseas for the second straight season. Last season they played in Madrid. This is their first London game since 2016, when they played the Bengals to a 27-27 tie. The Colts will be going to Europe for a second straight season. They got a 31-25 overtime win over the Falcons in Germany last season. Week 5: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Jacksonville Jaguars in London, EnglandWeek 6: Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars in London, EnglandBOTH NFL NETWORKThe Jaguars have made London their second home for a while now, and they get their normal two games overseas. One is a game that could end up deciding the AFC South. The Jaguars barely won the division last season at 13-4, edging out the Texans at 12-5. It should be a good divisional matchup for London. The first game for the Jaguars is another fantastic matchup against an Eagles team that won a Super Bowl two seasons ago and won the NFC East last season. It’s a pretty good run for London, which gets two straight weeks of matchups with playoff teams from last season. Week 7: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints in Paris, France NFL NETWORKThe NFL is making its way to Paris for the first time. The game will be at Stade de France, the largest stadium in the country. The NFL is sending the Pittsburgh Steelers (and perhaps Aaron Rodgers?) to Paris to face the Saints, who were announced as the first team for the Paris game months ago. All three of the Saints’ previous international games happened in London. The Steelers have played two international games, one in London and one last season in Ireland. The Steelers won that game in Dublin, beating the Vikings 24-21. Steelers fans always travel, so expect to see plenty of terrible towels in Paris. Week 9: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, Spain NFL NETWORKThe NFL said this year’s game in Spain is part of a multi-year agreement to hold games at Bernabéu Stadium. The first NFL game in Madrid happened last season, with the Dolphins beating the Commanders 16-13 in overtime. The Falcons lost to the Colts in Germany last season and are 1-3 in international games. The Bengals haven’t been part of the international series since 2019, a year before Joe Burrow was drafted. Week 10: New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions in Munich, Germany FOXThe Lions’ last time playing an international game was 2015. They return to play at FC Bayern Munich Stadium, which hosted games in 2022 and 2024. The NFL will return to Germany in 2028 as well. This season the league gave Germany a prime matchup. The Lions didn’t make the playoffs last season but should rebound and are one of the NFL’s most exciting teams. They take on a Patriots team that made the Super Bowl last season and has an exciting star in quarterback Drake Maye. Week 11: Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City, Mexico NBCThis will be the sixth NFL regular season game in Mexico City and the 49ers have been a part of three of them. The NFL announced there will be games in Mexico City each of the next three seasons. The Vikings beat the Browns 21-17 in London last season. This will be Minnesota’s seventh international game, tying the Dolphins for second-most all-time, only behind the Jaguars. This will be a Sunday night game. Andrew Siciliano adds three more: @AndrewSicilianoWe officially know 13 of the 272 @NFL games. 1: SF at LAR 🇦🇺1: DAL at NYG (SNF)1: DEN at KC (MNF)2: DET at BUF (TNF)4: IND at WAS 🇬🇧5: PHL at JAX 🇬🇧6: HOU at JAX 🇬🇧7: PIT at NO 🇫🇷3: BAL at DAL 🇧🇷9: CIN at ATL 🇪🇸10: NE at DET 🇩🇪11: MIN at SF 🇲🇽12: PHI at DAL 🦃– – -Connor Orr of SI.com with a look at how whether or not the NFL intends to, its scheduling decisions have a significant effect on how some teams perform: Last year, for the first time in NFL history, a team had five prime-time games within the first eight weeks of the season. That team, the Chiefs, went 1–7 in the weeks after that grueling slate. Its quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, the face of the NFL, had to scramble so much behind an understaffed offense and line that the sheer volume of hard hits he took became a legitimate NFL storyline. By week 15, he had torn his ACL. Also, last year, the Vikings, starting (essentially) a rookie quarterback, were given five stand-alone games in the first eight weeks, including a two-week international road trip. That quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, spent the season vacillating on and off the injury report and dealing with the immediately overwhelming expectations of life in the NFL. His backup, Carson Wentz, also played one of those games with a labrum tear and fractured socket. In 2024, the two teams with the most prime-time games—the Jets and Cowboys—both missed the playoffs. The Cowboys again had among the most prime-time games in ’25 and missed the playoffs. So, too, did the Lions, Falcons, Commanders and Chiefs. Among the 11 teams with the easiest schedules in the NFL last year in terms of opponent strength of schedule (there was a tie at No. 10), only three missed the playoffs. The team with the easiest schedule, the Patriots, made it to the Super Bowl. Of the five teams with the best net rest differential—a metric that takes into account the rest between games that each team has coming into the matchup—three of the five best teams reached the playoffs, and one, the Seahawks, won the Super Bowl. Among the teams with the worst net rest differentials, the Commanders had arguably the most disappointing 2025 season, and the Raiders ended up with the No. 1 pick. Only one of the teams with the six worst net rest differentials (the Bills) made the playoffs, and they were clearly gassed upon arrival. Only two of the 10 teams with the hardest strength of schedule (the Rams and Texans) made the playoffs (perhaps shedding more light on just what a phenomenal season DeMeco Ryans and his coaching staff actually had, given the circumstances). The 2012 Eagles had one of the worst net differentials in modern schedule history and finished the season 4–12. The 2005 Chargers, coming off a 12–4 season the year before, posted another historically bad net rest differential and finished the season 9–7, out of the playoffs (with Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson and a rookie Shawne Merriman on the roster). We surface all of this admittedly circumstantial evidence ahead of Thursday’s 2026 schedule release to say that, while a team’s slate of opponents is prefixed, the order in which those opponents are stacked seems to have an incredible impact on how an NFL season unfolds. It’s a bit like one team playing the first basement level in Super Mario Bros. straight through, with plenty of complicated jumps and hordes of koopas and goombas. Another team figures out the hack that allows them to simply run across the top of the screen and jump straight into a warp zone. This is not a good thing, given that the NFL seems to be paying less attention to that particular minutiae than ever. As thirsty broadcasting partners clamor for more exclusive content, which now features three Christmas games, a Christmas Eve game, a Thanksgiving night game, a Thanksgiving Eve game and a Black Friday game, a game in Australia, a game in Madrid, three games in London, a game in Brazil and a four-night stand at the Greenland municipality of Ittoqqortoormiit, which is only accessible via helicopter at specific times during the year, we’re going to care less about the incredibly critical order of games and more about simply slamming enough popular teams onto the plates of the loudest, deepest-pocketed and most desperate television executives. The origin of this problem is multifaceted, though I want to quickly mention an underrated aspect: how terrible some teams are at promoting themselves. Coaches and PR professionals who believe in a closed-off locker room, cut off from stories and specials that can highlight a player’s unique personality or a coach’s key contribution, are simply adding to the problem of teams being labeled as uninteresting and wiped out of the landscape of desirable properties. Of course, much of this has to do with the likes of Amazon, NBC, CBS and Fox thirsting for established star players and guaranteed audiences of perpetually successful teams like roving small-town vampires. The question, like all of this, is how much we will care. But also, why do we seem to be ignoring the other end of the schedule paradox altogether? With gambling, the questionable application of game-altering penalties and other seemingly omnipresent complaints from fans about the league’s trajectory, the NFL is operating under the assumption that its product is bulletproof and we will watch no matter what. Why, then, is that same assumption not applied to the creation of the schedule itself? If people will watch anyway, why not put the Raiders and Panthers on Monday Night Football? If people will watch anyway, why do we need to grasp the throat of last year’s ascending young quarterback and apply pressure until a loss of consciousness is achieved? If people are going to watch anyway, why bind Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Patrick Mahomes together with a rope like a troika of kidnap victims in the trunk of an old Nissan Pathfinder? The NFL preserving so many seemingly “broken” ways to maintain a thumb on the scale is, admittedly, weird. And, it’s creating a landscape where we can, with increasing accuracy, write off certain teams altogether. Or infer that the NFL has a vested interest in their success. Let’s imagine, for example, that Thursday’s schedule reveals a gentle runway for the Chiefs as Patrick Mahomes returns from a torn ACL (acknowledging that we already know they’ll face the Broncos on Monday night in Week 1). Is that considered acceptable insofar as the NFL is a business whose success is determined by viewership, or would padding the Chiefs’ schedule to rectify hammering them last year be an irresponsible use of power? I’d venture to say the latter. Transparency is key. While strength of schedule coming into a season using the previous season’s records is faulty, even having the NFL ensure that the easiest schedule gets the worst net rest differential feels like a step toward fairness. There is no perfect solution, but nakedly pandering to the sport’s entertainment value clearly isn’t working. The NFL is still unpredictable enough to be enjoyable. However, the schedule release provides enough of a clue to make the path to enjoyment feel a bit gross and, at the very least, complicated. No matter what, people will come. Maybe even more so when they don’t feel the odds are already against their team from May 14 onward. |
| NFC NORTH |
| MINNESOTAAlbert Breer of SI.com on the expanding cast of characters in Minnesota’s GM search: Vikings’ GM searchVikings GM interviews got underway this week, with the first set held over Zoom, followed by in-person interviews with the finalists. As essentially the only game in town, and because it’s a quiet time in the scouting calendar, Minnesota can take its time as it filters through assistant GMs Chad Alexander (Chargers), RJ Gillen (49ers), Terrance Gray (Bills), John McKay (Rams), Nolan Teasley (Seahawks) and Dave Ziegler (Titans). Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf is leading the Zoom sessions alongside coach Kevin O’Connell.. |
| NFC EAST |
| NEW YORK GIANTSWith DT DEXTER LAWRENCE gone, EDGE BRIAN BURNS is looking to step up into a bigger leadership role. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Giants edge rusher Brian Burns said in mid-April that he did not want to play “this season or any other season” without Dexter Lawrence, but that didn’t stop the team from trading Lawrence to the Bengals a short time later. Burns’s stance isn’t actually keeping him from taking part in the team’s preparations for the 2026 season, of course. He said on Tuesday that he was “just really going to bat for my teammate” and knows he will have to live with the new reality. That new reality leaves Burns as the veteran leader of the defense and he said that he’s viewing that as a chance to make this his defense over the coming months. “That’s how I’m kinda looking at it,’’ Burns said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “It’s kind of a nod to what I’ve done and the success that I’ve had, but I don’t take that lightly at all, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity.’’ That defensive shift is taking place alongside a larger shift for the organization in the wake of John Harbaugh’s arrival as head coach and the hope is that both contribute to the first winning season in a while for the NFC East club. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| NEW ORLEANSBefore he goes into the family business, WR BROCK RECHSTEINER is going to give the NFL a try, signing as a free agent. Grant Gordon of NFL.com: A second career in the squared circle is being put on hold for Brock Rechsteiner. Rechsteiner, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, is signing as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints, the team announced. A 6-foot-2, 225-pound wide receiver out of Jacksonville State, Rechsteiner took part in New Orleans rookie minicamp over the weekend and clearly impressed. In 37 career games at Jacksonville State, Rechsteiner hauled in 53 receptions for 629 yards and seven touchdown catches. Rechsteiner has received more attention than most UDFAs thanks to his family lineage. His father Scott (real name Scott Rechsteiner) and uncle Rick Steiner (real name Robert Rechsteiner) are WWE HOFers for their work as the Steiner Brothers, a successful pro wrestling tag team during the late 1980s and 1990s in WCW, the then-WWF and Japan. Both were known for their extremely “stiff” work, which is wrestling jargon for legitimately hitting your opponent. Rechsteiner’s father went on to a notable career as a singles pro wrestler, nicknamed “Big Poppa Pump,” hence the Saints announcing Rechsteiner’s signing with his father’s catchphrase, “Holla if ya hear me.” Rechsteiner’s cousin currently wrestles in the WWE as Bron Breaker (Bronson Rechsteiner), but played football at Kennesaw State University and was briefly signed as an undrafted fullback by the Baltimore Ravens. Rechsteiner, whose father and uncle were both standout amateur wrestlers at Michigan, said over the weekend he still trains with his cousin. The wideout plans to follow in his family’s footsteps in the future, but for now, it’s full speed ahead with the Saints. “I want to pursue football a long as I can, play as long as I can, but once I’m done, I’ll get into wrestling, too,” Rechsteiner said over the weekend, via WDSU-TV’s Sharief Ishaq. |
| TAMPA BAYTom Moore may no longer be coaching in the NFL. But, at age 87, he is not done coaching. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: Long-time NFL assistant coach Tom Moore hasn’t retired, after all. The 87-year-old offensive guru will return to where it all started. Iowa. Via Scott Dochterman of The Athletic, Moore will serve as senior consultant to the head coach and offensive advisor at the school where Moore played quarterback from 1958 through 1960. He also started his coaching career there, from 1961 to 1962. Moore’s coaching career after leaving Iowa took him to Dayton, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, the New York Stars of the WFL, and Minnesota again before becoming an NFL assistant coach in 1977. He spent 13 seasons with the Steelers, four with the Vikings, three with the Lions, and one with the Saints. Moore arrived with the Colts in 1998, Peyton Manning’s rookie season. Moore served as Manning’s offensive coordinator for the first 11 years of his career, before taking on a senior position in 2009 and 2010. Moore then went to the Jets for a year, the Titans for a year, the Cardinals for five years (with head coach Bruce Arians). After taking 2018 off, Moore reunited with Arians in Tampa Bay, where Moore worked as an offensive consultant from 2019 through 2025. In all, Moore has won four Super Bowl rings — two with the Steelers (1978, 1979), one with the Colts (2006), and one with the Buccaneers (2020). Now, 64 years after leaving Iowa, his career is coming full circle. |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONAThe Cardinals think that QB CARSON BECK is well-schooled to be NFL ready this year. Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com: So much has been made about Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck’s experience coming into the NFL draft last month. It has been well documented: He’s 24, has played six seasons of college ball and started 43 combined games at two schools. But how can that experience translate to the field? It was already apparent during Beck’s first days on an NFL field at rookie minicamp. He came into the NFL with the benefit of playing in NFL-style systems at Georgia and Miami, which quickly translated to the league in one particular area: the cadence. For new Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, the cadence and snap have been among his priorities since the veterans arrived in Arizona’s facility the first week of April. LaFleur spent an entire week on the pre-snap orientation. Beyond working on the huddle, which was the first step for LaFleur, the next priority was the snap count, cadence included. In Beck, LaFleur has a rookie quarterback who’s unique. Beck has already used a verbal cadence, demanding the snap verbally during the first half of last season at Miami. His Miami cadence wasn’t as “drawn out” as NFL cadences are, but it got him used to it, whereas most other rookie quarterbacks either receive the snap on a clap or on a silent count. “He’s learning the cadence, he’s understanding how important the cadence is, but he’s going to have to go out there and do it when we get everyone there,” LaFleur said. Beck’s understanding of just how important the cadence is could help him when he sees the field this season. “You can try to trick a defense or just kind of keeps them off balance,” Beck said. “You can use cadence as a weapon. So obviously that’s something that I’m going to have to practice as I head into this, but I think it’ll be good. “You can use that as a weapon if you can get good at it. So I’m excited to kind of dive into that a little bit more.” LaFleur said the cadence can be “a massive weapon.” If a defense can pick up on a quarterback’s cadence, LaFleur said it turns into a disadvantage. “That’s the advantage we have on offense is we know when it’s going to be snapped, but we have to be able to use that as a weapon,” LaFleur said. “We have to be able to change it up and do all the things.” Using a verbal cadence was just one aspect of Beck’s game in which he has more experience than other rookies. And that will speed up his learning curve, LaFleur said. “It’s not like he hasn’t had attached tight ends,” LaFleur said. “It’s not like he hasn’t been in 12 personnel. It’s not like he hasn’t been under center and done a play-action fake or, shoot, even take a snap from under center like a lot of guys haven’t. “So it’s just I would say the comfortability of playing under center, playing in the gun, playing with different formations, motions and stuff like that. It’s not the end all, be all by any means, but definitely if there was a tie, you’d say, ‘Yeah, I want the guy that’s actually done some of that over the guy that hasn’t.'” While he has the experience of calling a cadence and taking snaps under center, what Beck doesn’t have is the pressure of being a first-round pick. And the Cardinals don’t have the pressure of playing the third-rounder as if he were a first-round pick. LaFleur won’t shy away from admitting that pressure actually exists, but he wants to bring Beck along at a pace in which he can develop. And LaFleur wants the urgency that his coaching staff will show in coaching Beck to be matched by Beck. Wherever he is, whether that’s on the field or on the bench. Beck understands that every day will be a “learning experience,” even if he ends up playing as a rookie. “You are consistently and constantly learning, just through game experience, through practice experience, meetings,” Beck said. “I mean, just talking to guys around the facility, just trying to get all the little breadcrumbs that I can from each and every person. But again, everybody wants to play football, especially at the position of quarterback. “You want to be the guy out there. It’s such an interesting position and why I think it’s the best position on Earth is that there’s only one guy out there. It’s not like wide receiver. If you’re in 11 personnel, you got three guys out there. D-line, you’re a four-down team, you got four guys out there. At quarterback, there’s one guy out there doing it. So, I mean, obviously I would love to play and perform, but again, we’ll see where that takes me and really just showing up and going to go to work.” |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERGetting more from the tight end position is a priority for the 2026 Broncos. Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com: After some offseason film study and number crunching, the Denver Broncos made an educated bet. They believe they can boost their tight end production by adding two rookies to the returning players at the position group. If they win that bet and get a bump from the seven tight ends on the roster, the most glaring weakness on their Super Bowl-contending team will be fixed. As the Broncos exited three days of on-field practices at their rookie minicamp this past weekend, coach Sean Payton dropped some optimism. That sentiment was echoed by one of the rookie tight ends — fifth-rounder Justin Joly — who said he was ready for whatever was asked of him. “So, it’s like, ‘If you want to put me in the backfield, do you want to put me anywhere on the field? I’ll do it,'” Joly said. “Even if they want [me] to play defense, just let me know — I got you guys.” Even if Joly’s contributions are exclusively at tight end come September, that will be more than welcome for the Broncos. In a league in which offenses are increasingly using two- and three-tight-end sets to punish nickel defenses, Denver’s tight end production fell short in 2025. The Broncos got only three combined touchdowns from the position group, and no tight end averaged more than 9.8 yards per reception. Three of last season’s top scoring offenses — the Rams (No. 1), Patriots (No. 2) and Bills (No. 4) — got at least nine touchdowns and 1,025 yards receiving from their tight ends. Only the Jets and Buccaneers had fewer tight-end touchdowns than the Broncos’ three, and the Broncos were 26th in tight end receiving yards (719). “I do think the tight end position can bring a lot more than it did,” starting tight end Evan Engram said at the start of the offseason. “There’s a lot more we honestly could have helped with.” Engram, who has a year left on the two-year deal he signed last offseason, had 64% of the tight end room’s receptions and receiving yards last season, finishing with 50 catches for 461 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos elected to re-sign Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull to return alongside Engram. Then they selected Joly and Dallen Bentley (seventh round, 256th overall) on Day 3 of last month’s draft. Payton also considers Caleb Lohner a newcomer, too. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Lohner was a seventh-round selection in the 2025 draft and spent his rookie season on the practice squad. He participated as a veteran player at rookie minicamp, where he was singled out by Payton. “He looks entirely different in this camp,” Payton said. “One year into the program, and how he’s moving, what he’s doing, everything looks entirely different. … It’s entirely noticeable, and he’s in great shape. You see his athleticism.” |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERSAlbert Breer of SI.com likes the signing of TE DAVID NJOKU: I like the David Njoku signing for the Chargers for two specific reasons, both relating to why he was available in the first place. The first is the price. In recent years, Njoku seemed perpetually upset with his contract situation. If you’d waited and waited and waited to be made whole financially, you too would probably be prone to overshooting your market, as it seems Njoku did, with unrealistic hopes in March. On the other side, the Chargers were able to snap him up for less than they signed Charlie Kolar for back in March. And second is the presence of Kolar. With Njoku headed into Year 10, and turning 30 in July, questions swirled over the past couple of months among the teams considering signing him about his ability/willingness as a blocker. Kolar’s presence, as one of the top blocking tight ends in football, makes that far less of an issue, with Njoku likely playing as the “F” tight end to Kolar’s “Y” (while bringing the flexibility to go to the “Y” when Oronde Gadsden II is in the game). So Njoku’s a Charger, and now the vision for the team’s offense can really come together. It looks like Mike McDaniel, in his first year as Jim Harbaugh’s OC, will have plenty to work with. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISMike Jones of The Athletic on the uncertain status of QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON: Anthony Richardson’s futureJust five years ago, the Indianapolis Colts used the No. 4 pick of the draft on Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. But slow development, inconsistent displays of professionalism, injuries and the surprise resurgence of Daniel Jones last season have seemingly made Richardson expendable. The quarterback requested a trade earlier this offseason, but the Colts have yet to find a trade partner, and teams that seemingly had a need for a young developmental backup quarterback have mostly made their moves. Will the Colts release Richardson so he can catch on with another team as a training camp hopeful and they can turn the page? Or, will they keep him on the roster as insurance for Jones, who is targeting a Week 1 return from a torn Achilles tendon? |
| AFC EAST |
| MIAMIOC Bobby Slowik sings the praises of QB MALIK WILLIS. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: When Dolphins offensive quarterback Bobby Slowik was asked at a Tuesday press conference about the things that excite him about quarterback Malik Willis, he began his answer by saying Willis “can spin the ball all over the field.” Slowik eventually made his way to mentioning Willis’s ability to impact games as a runner and that topic came up again later in the session. Slowik was asked about the stress that Miami will be able to put on opposing defenses by pairing Willis with running back De’Von Achane. “I’d say anytime you have a quarterback who has the ability to run, it’s not something that you are going to do down-in, down-out in the NFL; but the threat of it makes it 11 versus 11, as opposed to 11 on 10,” Slowik said, via a transcript from the team. “I think that’s what can get tough sometimes when you get a guy that maybe isn’t as mobile at quarterback is, they have eleven guys and aside from throwing the ball, you’re really playing with ten. So it just lets you equalize some advantageous situations. Outside of that, really the mobility these days shows up more in off-schedule situations than it does anything. So it’s definitely a weapon and it’s a threat and it’s something you want a defense to think about, but I think no one in the NFL is coming out and just living in that world.” The Dolphins may not want to be living in that world, but there’s little reason to think they would have made such a big bet on Willis while overhauling their receiver room if they didn’t think of his legs as an asset to the offense. Seeing how that plays out will be one of the big things to watch in Miami this season. |
| NEW ENGLANDA Patriots rookie draws the attention of the police. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Patriots seventh-round linebacker Quintayvious Hutchins was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after an incident in a Boston College dorm on Tuesday night. WBZ reports, via a police report, that officers were called to a dorm to intervene in an argument between a man and a woman. The report cites a witness account that Hutchins grabbed the woman’s neck during the argument and that they were also pushing each other. “We are aware of the report involving Quintayvious Hutchins,” the Patriots said in a statement. “We take these matters very seriously and are in the process of gathering additional information. We will not have further comment at this time.” The police report also notes that the woman did not want pictures of her neck taken and said she was “OK” in her own statement. Hutchins, who played at Boston College, was arraigned on Wednesday morning and released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| MORE WINDOWS FOR THREE “SUNDAY” NETWORKSSean Keeley of Awful Announcing lays out some new opportunities for FOX, CBS and NBC: As the NFL attempts to rejigger its media rights and account for the inventory freed up by the ESPN-NFL Media deal, several games have seemingly been passed around like hotcakes this offseason. We finally know where the four games previously exclusive to ESPN are headed. Jon Lewis at Sports Media Watch confirmed that Fox and NBC, both of which announced additional NFL inventory early today, are each taking one of the games ESPN sent back to the NFL as part of its equity deal earlier this year. Netflix will reportedly get the other two, in addition to the Week 1 game from Australia, which together with its Christmas Day doubleheader creates a five-game package. With those games seemingly settled, there’s another wrinkle in the upcoming NFL season broadcasting schedule: The addition of several new standalone windows for broadcast networks. Fox will air a rare “tripleheader” in Week 10 when it broadcasts an International Series game from Munich on Sunday morning, followed by its standard afternoon games. Per SMW, this will be the first NFL tripleheader on a single broadcast network since 2016. NBC said its additional game, branded as an NFL Holiday Special, would air Saturday, January 2, at 4:30 p.m. ET (Week 17), leading into its annual Peacock-exclusive game, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. That gives NBC Sports three exclusive broadcast windows that week. Not to be outdone, CBS Sports announced it will add an exclusive primetime window of its own in Week 15, with a game on Saturday, December 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET, airing on both CBS and Paramount+. This game reportedly would’ve been a regional Sunday afternoon game, but was carved out to add another standalone window. Incidentally, Fox will also reportedly air a game on Saturday, December 19, though it did not specify kickoff time. Based on the language of the CBS announcement, we can fairly assume it will take place earlier in the day. These games will, in all likelihood, compete directly with the first round of the College Football Playoff, as has been the case in each of the past two years since the event expanded to 12 teams. Reports of the NFL promising a “slight increase” in broadcast exposure this season were certainly accurate. The move is not surprising amid two federal probes into the league’s broadcast practices, both of which stem from the league’s transition of certain games from traditional television to streamin |
AIR MILESAdam Schefter put this out on Twitter – with the Seahawks, usually the leader only in 10th with a slate without and international game:  |
