One of the most exciting parts of the NFL offseason is when the next year’s schedule is released. It appears that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Howard Katz, the senior vice president in charge of the process, said at the NFL owners meetings that it’s too early to target a completion date but said that while the league is shooting for mid-to-late April, he isn’t sure it actually will occur then.
The 2013 schedule was released on April 18th last season. It would appear the fans around the league could be waiting till closer to the NFL Draft in May for a full schedule to be released. One game that will get a lot of attention will be when the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks has a rematch with the Denver Broncos from that fateful day at MetLife Stadium on Groundhog’s Day. There are a ton of fans who want that game to be the league’s opening Thursday night game since Seattle is scheduled to host Denver this coming year. That game doesn’t appear to be the one that will open the 2014 season though.
Reports out of Denver say that the Broncos have been told that they will likely play their final preseason game on Thursday, Aug. 28 in Dallas. The fact that Denver would be on the road for that final preseason game makes it less likely that they would play on the road to open the 2014 season the following Thursday night. That fact would likely take away the possibility of fans in both cities getting to see that rematch right away on Sept. 4 when the season begins in Seattle.
These facts will sadden NFL fans that are ready to make their plans for the fall and which games will be at home for their favorite team. It looks more likely that the Seahawks will end up hosting the San Francisco 49ers or Green Bay Packers in that opening game. It will be a game worth watching no matter who the opponent is for the Seahawks. It could be another month or more before the answers are all known and plans can be made for the 2014 NFL season.