2016 NFL preseason schedule released, and here's every matchup
On Thursday, the NFL announced the 2016 preseason schedule in all its meaningless glory.
By
Ryan Wilson
•
3 min read
Preseason football may be some four months off, but the NFL wants to give you time to get adequately pumped for what amounts to glorified practices. That's right: On Thursday, the league announced the 2016 preseason schedule in all its meaningless glory.
Meaningless may be an overstatement; the preseason is when jobs are won and rosters are made. It also provides hapless fans of hopeless franchises a chance to feel like this is the year.
After the NFL Draft, we'll get a better sense of which games will be worth your attention, but in the meantime we'll pencil in these Week 1 matchups as noteworthy, too (at least for the first couple of series, anyway).
* Packers vs. Colts (Hall of Fame Game): Aaron Rodgers! Andrew Luck! And more than three quarters of football played by guys who won't be on the roster in September! Good news: Football is officially back. Bad news: The Hall of Fame game is notoriously boring, even by NFL preseason standards. When the game was announced in February, Rodgers was predictably underwhelmed:
A 5th preseason game?! #stoked https://t.co/zXaKIqAEfL
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) February 16, 2016
Rodgers said way back in September that, "We hope we don't get [the Hall of Fame game] but we know it's going to be tough because No. 4 is going to be going in." No. 4 is Brett Favre, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame the day before the game.
Sorry, Aaron.
* Cowboys vs. Rams: Tony Romo! Case Keenum! Again, we'll probably see very little from the starters, but the bigger storyline (as far as preseason storylines go) is that the Cowboys will be the first opponent of the new (old) Los Angeles Rams. Let's hope things turn out better than the last time these two teams met in the preseason.
* Browns vs. Packers: A year ago, the Browns were facing the Redskins in the preseason Week 1 matchup, and it was one we billed as Robert Griffin III vs. Johnny Manziel. Yeah, that didn't pan out. But maybe this is the year RG3 rights the ship. He's now with the Browns and presumably, he'll make his debut against the Packers, a development Aaron Rodgers is no doubt stoked about.
Also notable: The Broncos and 49ers are scheduled to face in Week 2 of the preseason, and it's anyone's guess which uniform Colin Kaepernick will be wearing by mid-August.
Mark your calendars accordingly: Here's the entire 2016 NFL preseason schedule:
| Date | Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio | Network |
| Aug 7 | Green Bay vs. Indianapolis (Hall of Fame Game) | 8 pm EST/ESPN |
| Aug 11-15 | Week 1 | Network/Date |
| Dallas at Los Angeles Carolina at Baltimore Cleveland at Green Bay Denver at Chicago Detroit at Pittsburgh Houston at San Francisco Indianapolis at Buffalo Jacksonville at NY Jets Miami at NY Giants Minnesota at Cincinnati New Orleans at New England Oakland at Arizona San Diego at Tennessee Seattle at Kansas City Tampa Bay at Philadelphia Washington at Atlanta |
ESPN, Aug. 13 |
|
| Aug 18-22 | Week 2 | Network/Date |
|
Arizona at San Diego |
TBA |
|
| Aug 25-28 | Week 3 | Network/Date |
| Atlanta at Miami Cleveland at Tampa Bay Tennessee at Oakland San Diego at Minnesota Arizona at Houston Cincinnati at Jacksonville Buffalo at Washington Dallas at Seattle Detroit at Baltimore Green Bay at San Francisco Kansas City at Chicago Los Angeles at Denver New England at Carolina NY Giants at NY Jets Philadelphia at Indianapolis Pittsburgh at New Orleans |
NBC, Aug. 25 |
|
| Sept 1-2 | Week 4 | Network/Date |
| Baltimore at New Orleans Buffalo at Detroit Chicago at Cleveland Denver at Arizona Green Bay at Kansas City Houston at Dallas Indianapolis at Cincinnati Jacksonville at Atlanta Los Angeles at Minnesota New England at NY Giants NY Jets at Philadelphia Pittsburgh at Carolina San Francisco at San Diego Seattle at Oakland Tennessee at Miami Washington at Tampa Bay |
TBA |
