Bengals showcase care for player safety amid newest NFL rule
Instead of limiting Thursday Night Football for the betterment of player safety, the NFL has chosen only to expand it for the immediate future. The league's owners came to a three-fourths majority ruling that will allow up to two TNF flexes per year during Weeks 13-17 of the season, and the teams affected will be […]
Instead of limiting Thursday Night Football for the betterment of player safety, the NFL has chosen only to expand it for the immediate future.
The league's owners came to a three-fourths majority ruling that will allow up to two TNF flexes per year during Weeks 13-17 of the season, and the teams affected will be given a 28-day notice ahead of time.
While the parameters are tight, it's still a window the league will undoubtedly take advantage of to create the best possible primetime matchups late in the season, putting proper rest for the players to the side.
The Cincinnati Bengals usually vote against drastic changes, and they acted no differently here. The Bengals were one of the eight teams to vote against the new policy, along with their AFC North rivals in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bengals have gone just one season in the past 10 years without a Thursday Night Football game. They'll next play in the week-night time slot in Week 11 of this season when they face the Baltimore Ravens on the road. Should the Bengals play in another Thursday night matchup this year, they'll learn of the decision two weeks before that game at the earliest.
This decision seems like it's been inevitable for a long time, especially after last season when so many Thursday night games were complete duds (looking at you, Denver Broncos). The league doesn't want to shell out billions of dollars for bad matchups that they can't change out of.
In the same vein, it's fair to assume most players don't want to play two football games in less than five day's time, but here we are.
The grace window provided by the NFL is the very least they could've provided, so players can at least aptly prepare, and fans can alter travel plans to the best of their abilities. But the Bengals were one of the teams whose greed didn't blind them from choosing the right side of the debate.
