NFL News

[Futureshock]

Schedule release likely coming in the range of May 10-12

Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2022, 7:20 PM EDT

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Back when the schedule came out before the draft, people got far more worked up about when the schedule will be released. Now, people generally shrug and say, “It’ll be out after the draft.”

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league plans to release the schedule during the second week of may, with the final date likely landing in the range of Tuesday, May 10 through Thursday, May 12.

Games of interest include the Thursday night season opener (hosted by the Rams), the Sunday night opener on NBC, the Monday night opener on ESPN, the Amazon Thursday night schedule, the Monday night ESPN/ABC doubleheader (which will happen at some point during 2022), the Thanksgiving trio of games, the late-season Saturday games, and the Christmas game(s), given that December 25 lands on a Sunday this year.

[Futureshock]

Report: Apple is “likely” landing Sunday Ticket

Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2022, 1:40 PM EDT

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Apple is about to take a, well, something out of the NFL’s rights portfolio.

The tech behemoth reportedly has emerged as the favorite to land the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, according to Matthew Belloni of PUCK.news, via Sports Business Journal. An unnamed source told Belloni that the deal is actually done, and that it’s being kept under wraps at Apple’s request.

The price could land in the range of $2.5 billion per year. And the deal would bring Apple within the NFL’s broader broadcast-partner tent. Belloni writes that the league “likes spreading its rights around so everyone is invested in its success.” (Some would phrase that a little differently.)

DirecTV holds the Sunday Ticket rights through 2022. We’ve previously heard that the winner of the Sunday Ticket package possibly would be able to sell a sliver of the satellite rights, either to people in areas that lack high-speed Internet access or to bars.

[CGVT]

They should call it Melissa, Mike and the Huckleberry show

NBC announces Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark as SNF broadcast team

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 19, 2022, 9:49 AM EDT

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Sunday Night Football officially has its new broadcast team.

Mike Tirico will call play-by-play, Cris Collinsworth will serve as the commentator and Melissa Stark will report from the sidelines, NBC announced today.

Tirico had long been expected to succeed Al Michaels in the Sunday night booth, and he and Collinsworth have already called 21 NFL games together. Stark’s long broadcasting career includes a three-year stint as Monday Night Football sideline reporter from 2000 to 2002.

Tirico, Collinsworth and Stark will have their premiere broadcast on August 4 at the Hall of Fame Game, and they will call the 2022 regular season opener on Thursday, September 8.

I think this is a good team. Tirico is a very good PBP guy and contrary to many, I like Collinsworth.

[froot loops]

Aw shucks Mike

[edindetroit]

I think this is a good team. Tirico is a very good PBP guy and contrary to many, I like Collinsworth.

I like Collinsworth too.

[CGVT]

Aw shucks Mike

Ha! There must be enough people out there that like him as well or else he wouldn't be keeping the gig.

Same with Joe Buck. There is a vocal minority of haters, but he stays employed.

The networks don't pay guys that cost them money.

[Mainevent]

I would expect the NFL is immune to viewership impact due to announcers. Most sports probably are. I doubt anybody (except maybe Madden) has had a tangible impact when changing networks.

Except maybe when they are objectively terrible, like the Booger/Witten team they had on MNF that one year.

[Mainevent]

Collinsworth was really good and he still is when he talks the game. When he's just blowing smoke up the ass of every player/coach/decision/etc. it borders on comical.

[froot loops]

Collinsworth is OK but I lost some respect for the guy when he was talking about Stafford last season.

[CGVT]

Collinsworth is OK but I lost some respect for the guy when he was talking about Stafford last season.

Yeah, he was pretty clueless about Stafford much like a lot of the national media and about half of the jackholes on this board. ;)

To Collinsworth's credit, he saw the light.

Troy Aikmen was overly critical of Stafford as well and it took the playoff magic for him to be won over.

[Cody_Russell]

Report: Apple is “likely” landing Sunday Ticket

Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2022, 1:40 PM EDT

Getty Images

Apple is about to take a, well, something out of the NFL’s rights portfolio.

The tech behemoth reportedly has emerged as the favorite to land the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, according to Matthew Belloni of PUCK.news, via Sports Business Journal. An unnamed source told Belloni that the deal is actually done, and that it’s being kept under wraps at Apple’s request.

The price could land in the range of $2.5 billion per year. And the deal would bring Apple within the NFL’s broader broadcast-partner tent. Belloni writes that the league “likes spreading its rights around so everyone is invested in its success.” (Some would phrase that a little differently.)

DirecTV holds the Sunday Ticket rights through 2022. We’ve previously heard that the winner of the Sunday Ticket package possibly would be able to sell a sliver of the satellite rights, either to people in areas that lack high-speed Internet access or to bars.

I would love this as someone that doesn’t live near Michigan anymore.

Dealing with NFL Sunday Ticket on DirectTV has been such a pain. I canceled it last year.
I love the Apple TV app. It’s so simple with how you can subscribe for channels like ShowTime or apps like Hulu, HBO Max, etc. Definitely would love to see Apple have it.

[Futureshock]

I would love this as someone that doesn’t live near Michigan anymore.

Dealing with NFL Sunday Ticket on DirectTV has been such a pain. I canceled it last year.
I love the Apple TV app. It’s so simple with how you can subscribe for channels like ShowTime or apps like Hulu, HBO Max, etc. Definitely would love to see Apple have it.

That 2.5 Billion is going to be paid by Apple customers across all their products. No way they make 2.5 Billion on the Sunday Ticket. And if they did, make just the Sun. Ticket customers pay for this, you'd have to pay something like $500 a year. No one is going to pay that.

[CGVT]

As long as I can continue to stream the games, I don't give a shit

[Futureshock]

Patrick Mahomes: “Different” size in receiving corps will be useful

Posted by Josh Alper on April 20, 2022, 7:18 AM EDT

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The Chiefs made a major change to their roster when they traded wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins last month and the group of targets for quarterback Patrick Mahomes will look very different as a result.

They’ve signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as free agents, which means they’re going to have bigger wideouts than Hill on hand. Both new additions are taller than Hill and Valdes-Scantling is bigger than almost all of the wideouts that have been with the team since Patrick Mahomes became the quarterback.

It’s a change that Mahomes highlighted while speaking to reporters this week.

“The biggest thing you see actually from throwing to all these guys really is we have a lot of size in that receiving room that we haven’t necessarily had in the past,” Mahomes said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. “We’ve done it different ways with speed and beating guys deep. . . . Having that size, I think, will be different. I’m excited for it, and I think it will be something that will be useful for us during the season. Having this good of a receiving room [with] everybody that can go out there and make plays, it will be great competition and help us in the long run.”

Mahomes noted that defenses played “a lot of that shells stuff was because of the speed we had on the outside” with Hill on the team and said he thinks defenses will now have to “come up and play some man” because the Chiefs will be able to attack the field in multiple ways. The draft could add to the options for a new approach in Kansas City.

[Futureshock]

Report: Jarvis Landry visiting Saints

Posted by Charean Williams on April 19, 2022, 6:59 PM EDT

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Free agent receiver Jarvis Landry is visiting the Saints this week, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.

Fowler adds that the Browns also remain “in the mix” for Landry.

The Browns cut Landry on March 14, and he has remained a free agent since. He was scheduled to make $15.1 million in salary and bonuses while carrying a salary-cap hit of $16.38 million in 2022, the final year of his contract with the Browns.

Landry, 29, had 52 receptions for 570 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games last season. In four seasons in Cleveland, he made 288 catches for 3,560 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The Saints will get Michael Thomas back this season, and they have Marquez Callaway, Tre'Quan Smith and Lil'Jordan Humphrey as the top options behind him.