Taylor Swift Chiefs Game (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
NFL fans were all saying the same thing following news that the league and NFLPA held talks over the possible expansion of an 18-game schedule down the road.
Three years ago, the NFL announced that it was expanding the regular season schedule from 16 to 17 games. NFL fans are now getting excited about the prospect of an 18-game expansion — on one condition.
NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told Mark Maske of The Washington Post on Monday that discussions between the NFL and NFLPA on an 18-game schedule “have not yet progressed to formal negotiations” but have “moved beyond the hypothetical stage.”
And football fans are fully on board with the possibility of an 18-game season, provided that the players are granted a second bye week:
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BREAKING:
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have begun serious talks regarding a change to an EIGHTEEN game regular season schedule, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. pic.twitter.com/7DV4brZCqn
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) July 23, 2024
Though the current NFL CBA expires in 2030, Lloyd told The Washington Post that the expanded schedule could come before then.
2021 marked the first permanent expansion of the NFL regular season schedule since 1978, when the league jumped from 14 games to 16 games. A year earlier in 2020, the NFL expanded the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams, adding an extra wild card team while awarding only a first-round bye to the top seed in each conference.
The league decided to make the “17th game” a non-conference showdown between AFC and NFC teams who aren’t scheduled to play each other for another two years, giving NFL fans the excitement of another contest they otherwise would only get every four years.
For example, the NFC East and AFC South played each other in the 2022 season. So the same-place finisher in each division will play each other in 2024 (e.g. Dallas Cowboys vs. Houston Texans), since the divisions won’t square off again until 2026.
18-Game Schedule Would Be A Win For NFL Fans
The league will have to work extensively to make sure that the players are protected from the addition of another season. An additional bye week has to be on the table, and potentially the scrapping of preseason games altogether.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Accidentally Exposed His Detroit Lions For Breaking A Major Rule On Netflix’s “Receiver” Series, And It Could Lead To Serious Punishment From The NFL
Amon-Ra St. Brown (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown may have inadvertently put his team in hot water while filming the Netflix “Receiver” series.
Earlier this month, Netflix released its highly-anticipated series that documented five elite pass-catchers during the 2023 season: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Deebo Samuel (San Francisco 49ers), George Kittle (49ers), Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders), Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings)
In the first episode, St. Brown stated that he suffered a painful oblique injury in the Lions’ Week 3 home win against the Atlanta Falcons, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Here’s how St. Brown described it, and a video of the injury is available below:
“We have a Thursday game after Atlanta.So, I can barely — I mean, I’m running but the pain is like, on a 10 it’s like at an eight. Eight or nine. And so I’m like, ‘It’s too late for me not to play. The game plan’s in.’ Painkillers is something I really don’t like to take unless — unless it’s the Packers.”
As Florio pointed out, the Lions did not list St. Brown on any of the injury reports ahead of the Week 4 Thursday night game against the Green Bay Packers. Because the Lions failed to disclose an obvious and painful injury, there’s a chance the NFL will hand down a punishment to Dan Campbell and company.
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With the oblique injury, St. Brown had to miss the team’s Week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers, which Detroit soundly won 42-24.
Amon-Ra St. Brown finished last season with career highs across the board (119 receptions for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdownns). The 24-year-old earned First-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections.
The Lions won their first division title in 30 years and their first postseason game since 1991 before barely losing a heartbreaker to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Lions Open 2024 Seaason vs. Los Angeles Rams
Detroit will welcome a familiar foe in Matthew Stafford and his Los Angeles Rams in their season opener on Sept. 8. This contest, the first “Sunday Night Football” contest of the season, will also mark a rematch of Detroit’s thrilling Wild Card Round victory.
A week later, the Lions will welcome another reigning division champion in Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
