NEW ORLEANS — NFL players don’t want the NFL to add an 18th regular-season game to its schedule.
“When I have talked to players over the last two seasons, no one wants to play an 18th game — no one,” NFLPA president Lloyd Howell said Wednesday. “Seventeen is already, for many of the guys, too long.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell, however, continues to float the idea of playing 18 regular-season games and two preseason games. He did it again Monday when discussing a drop in concussions.
“Eighteen and two [preseason games] might be a possibility,” he said. “We know fans love football and they want more football. But we have to be incredibly sensitive with the balance and how we deal with that.”
The league and union have not had formal discussions about playing 18 games.
The NFL cannot add an 18th game without amending the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs until 2030. The players would have to approve it. Howell said that, were the union to consider an 18th game, they’d want concessions from the league on issues ranging from the number of bye weeks to the structure of the offseason to the number of international games teams play each year.
The NFL announced Wednesday that is going to Australia in 2026. The Rams will be the designated home team for a game set to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Chargers played the Broncos in Sydney in 1999. The league has played 55 regular-season games in London, Munich, Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto. The league can schedule up to eight international games per year. It has announced 2025 games in London, Berlin and Madrid.
Notes
• The first injury report of Super Bowl week produced four partial participants on the Eagles: defensive linemen Brandon Graham (elbow) and Jalen Carter (illness), running back Kenneth Gainwell (concussion/knee) and receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring). The Chiefs had perfect practice attendance.
• On radio row, Packers running back Josh Jacobs told multiple outlets that his team needs a proven No. 1 receiver.