The NFL is thinking about expanding the regular season, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up of it happening.
There has been some thought about expanding the regular season to 18 games and capping the number of games a person can play at 16. (RELATED: July Is The Final Month Of 2019 Without College Football)
However, I’d be shocked if this happened. The last thing the players want is to be playing on more Sundays than they have to.
That’s just a fact. Even capping the amount they can play won’t do much to incentivize them. It just won’t. As more information about health and the game comes out, the less the players are to want to risk injury.
Besides, who is going to be pumped to watch backups play? We already have the preseason, which is about as twice as long as necessary.
In an ideal world, here’s exactly what would happen. If there’s an appetite for more games, then Roger Goodell and owners need to look to the postseason.
Right off the bat, cut the preseason down to two games. Hell, maybe just cut it down to one, and players with multiple years remaining on their contracts don’t have to play. Let rookies and guys fighting for roster spots play.
As for the regular season, keep it at 16 games and then expand the playoffs from 12 teams to 16. Yes, that means half the league would make the playoffs, but it’s much better than just tacking on two extra regular season games with playing time caps.
This is the only option in my mind that makes sense. It’ll cut down on injuries in the preseason, it keeps the regular season the same and it gives us some extra NFL playoff action.
It’s the only option that works. Everything else is either dumb or just not possible.
