The idea of the preseason being shortened to three games apparently has “momentum” among the competition committee, according to what Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy told Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
Green Bay plays five preseason game this year due to being part of the Hall of Fame Game, but Murphy feels that there is indeed hope for the preseason being shortened to three and hopefully based on the idea of Packers coach Mike McCarthy. Speaking to Demovsky, McCarthy proposed the idea of a three-game preseason with a two-week bye, and then two weeks before the start of the regular season.
Murphy further elaborated:
“I think there would be support for three,” Murphy said. “I think Mike’s [idea], that’s what we’ve talked about. Rather than playing that fourth game on a Thursday, . . . don’t play a fourth game and then you’d have an extra week. We’ve looked at different models, but I think that’s the one that makes the most sense.
“You’re giving up some revenue, but it’s one of the worst things we do. The move we made on variable [ticket] pricing helps a little bit in how preseason is viewed, but especially that fourth game is kind of a throwaway.”
Murphy is right on the money. For the NFL to go on and on the way it does about player safety and enact rules meant to protect everyone from injury, why have four preseason games four weeks in a row and put the players at risk? Yes, preseason games are important for coaches to figure out which players to start, who to use in certain situations, etc., but to have four so close to the regular season is unnecessary.
But Murphy says that people appear to be open to the idea of shortening the preseason to three games, so stay tuned to Campus Sports for further updates on this story!
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
