NFL teams are no stranger to joint practices at training camp these days, and according to Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, they could soon replace at least part of the annual preseason schedule.

"I think that's where we're going," Pederson told local media Tuesday, two days before the Eagles' Week 3 exhibition vs. the Baltimore Ravens. "I think that's the way the league is heading."

The coach's remarks came in response to a question of whether joint practices serve many of the same purposes as preseason games and if it would make sense to reduce the preseason schedule in favor of more practices. Pederson, who's hinted at his own desire for a reduction in the past, said there are multiple benefits to the joint practices: They "break up hitting your teammates," which happens at traditional camp over the course of the summer, but they also offer a more controlled environment than in preseason, when coaches are unable to script and practice more specific scenarios.

Preseason, of course, has also been notorious for the injury risk it poses to players ahead of the regular season.

It's not as if the NFL is completely averse to cutting down its four-week preseason schedule, either. Just this week, league owners and player representatives reportedly expressed an openness to a playoff expansion that would accompany the elimination of one preseason game from the current four-week schedule.