At least a couple players don’t mind “Thursday Night Football” games being flexed.
The Kelce brothers are fans of the new rule, which allows Thursday night games between Weeks 13 and 17 to be flexed with 28 days notice, despite the criticism it has drawn after being adopted last week.
“As we’ve talked about before, I’m a huge fan of the Thursday Night game,” Jason Kelce said on the New Heights podcast. “Listen, I am all for games being played on Thursdays because that means we have walkthroughs during the middle of the week and we don’t practice. Then we get three days off after the game.”
“I’m a huge fan of them even later in the season, too,” Travis Kelce said.
That puts the Kelces on the opposite side of the ledger as, presumably, a lot of players, since the Thursday games demand such a quick turnaround.
Travis and Jason KelceGetty ImagesJason Kelce, though, added that some only oppose Thursday games to “make headlines” (while having a conversation that made headlines itself).
Part of the reason they support the change, though, is the same reason any fan might.
It will get better football games into primetime.
“I just like good football being on primetime TV,” Jason Kelce said. “I don’t want to turn my Thursday night television on and have to watch a bad game. I like watching good football. Thursday night is one of those few nights that I get to watch football and enjoy it as a fan.”
For fans who watch from home, the rule figures to be an improvement.
But for anyone who travels to games, particularly on the road, it could be a disaster — and the NFL has drawn criticism on that front.
Owner and player opposition, including from Giants owner John Mara, centers on season-ticket holders and people traveling to games, who might not be able to adjust to changes in the schedule, even with notice.
“To flex a game back to Thursday night, to me, is just abusive and I am adamantly opposed to it,” Mara said at NFL meetings in March.
