Thursday Night Football games have always led to complaints from players due to the short turnaround for teams that just played the Sunday before. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the league is taking their opinions on the matter into account, making a new rule that directly harms the players.
A decision on Tuesday night at the NFL owners’ meeting has made it possible for teams to now have to play two TNF games in a season.
This decision was reportedly made to have teams “competitively play their way into primetime” according to NFL EVP/Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp.
NFL says there’s no promise all 32 teams are getting a primetime game.
“We want to make sure that teams competitively play their way into primetime,” NFL EVP/Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp said. https://t.co/wSrJ8XUog6
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 28, 2023
This may make for some entertaining TNF games next season. However, players clearly feel very strongly that this is not a positive for their safety on the field.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III took to social media to speak on the matter. He wrote out a detailed message stating the reasons why this is not a good decision for the safety of NFL players.
“The NFL is now allowing teams to have TWO Thursday Night Football games per year. A league that continuously says it is all about improving player safety continues to put the health of its players at risk. Playing 1 game with only 3 days of rest isn’t smart. Playing 2 is RIDICULOUS,” tweeted Griffin.
The NFL is now allowing teams to have TWO Thursday Night Football games per year. A league that continuously says it is all about improving player safety continues to put the health of its players at risk. Playing 1 game with only 3 days rest isn’t smart. Playing 2 is RIDICULOUS
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) March 28, 2023
Meanwhile, Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes made his opinion on the matter very clear. He posted a reply on Twitter that clearly shows he does not want to play a second TNF game next year.
🤦🏽♂️ https://t.co/7kIyOGpOvV
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) March 28, 2023
Philadelphia Eagles star cornerback Darius Slay also took to social media, replying to the news of this Thursday Night Football change with some extremely colorful language…
[Patrick Mahomes on Twitter, Robert Griffin III on Twitter,]
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.