New York Giants star linebacker Bobby Okereke said in an interview that there could be repercussions for the NFL if they decide to add another game to the regular season.
The NFL regular season sits at 17 games right now, but talks of an 18-game season in the near future have been surfacing this offseason.
The NFL just moved to a 17-game season
Talks of an 18-game season have surfaced not long after the owners of the NFL voted to expand the season to 17 games.
In March 2021, owners added that extra game and instituted the extended season that year. The 2021 season ended with the notably injury-prone Cincinnati Bengals taking on the veteran-led Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.
If the NFL instituted the 18-game season soon, there would be a drastic decrease in time between extensions of the NFL season. Before moving to 17 games, the last time the NFL extended the season was in 1978 when they moved from 14-game seasons to 16-game seasons.
New York Giants LB Bobby Okereke says the 18-game season could lead to load management
In an interview with NFL insider Ari Meirov, New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke explained that an increase in season length could result in certain star players taking games off to minimize the chances of injury.
Okereke pointed to the NBA, where load management defines the regular season, saying that big-name guys like LeBron James and Steph Curry are constantly sitting during regular season games.
Okereke also goes on to say that NFL players could be incentivized to play in expanded seasons. Getting a share of the NFL’s revenue as a whole could garner more player support when it comes to expanding the season.
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow suggested an in-season break
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who has already fallen victim to the grueling NFL season more than once, suggested a system similar to the NBA when asked about a potential 18-game season.
Burrow said that there needs to be more bye weeks, but one of those bye weeks would need to be a collective midseason break. NBA players similarly take a week off during the “All-Star break” in the middle of the season instead of having All-Star/Pro Bowl festivities after the season.
Burrow explained his idea in an article from CBS Sports.
“Gotta have two bye weeks,” Burrow replied after some quick banter. “And I think it’d be cool to do normal bye weeks like it is now. Have it spread out. But then, like, Week 13, do the Pro Bowl break. Where you have the 7-on-7 and all the skills challenges, like the NBA does. Because I think that would give more ratings for the Pro Bowl and then it would also give everybody that bye week going into the last six games of the year.”
Regardless of the way in which the NFL goes about tackling an additional game, it seems as if most NFL players would require some sort of systemic change. If there are no changes made to the format and the season just becomes one week longer, it would be hard to see NFL players welcoming the additional game.
