Six NFL teams are eligible for 'Hard Knocks,' but two of them don't seem interested
At least two NFL teams don't seem too excited about the possibility of being on Hard Knocks in 2018
By
John Breech
•
2 min read
The NFL's annual search to put a team on Hard Knocks might get slightly more difficult this year, and that's mainly because two of the teams that are eligible to be on the show don't seem to have any interest in being on the show.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the Hard Knocks formula, a team doesn't have to be on the show if any of the three rules below applies to them:
- They have a first-year head coach in place
- They have a playoff berth in the past two seasons
- They have appeared on Hard Knocks in the past 10 years
For instance, the Colts don't have to be on the show in 2018 because they'll have a new head coach. The Packers won't have to be on the show because they've made the playoffs in the past two seasons and the Bengals won't have to be on the show because they've appeared on Hard Knocks in the past 10 years.
When we factor in those three rules and apply them to every team, we're left with just six teams that the NFL can force to be on Hard Knocks this year: The 49ers, Broncos, Browns, Chargers, Ravens and Redskins.
If you looked at that list and said, "Wow, a Hard Knocks with the 49ers would be fun after the way they ended their season," go ahead and eliminate that thought from your head right now because they want no part of the show, something that general manager John Lynch made clear on Tuesday.
"It's not something we would be really excited about," Lynch said, via NBC Bay Area. "I love the show, but I think some thing are best left behind closed doors. I fundamentally have a problem with cutting players and things of that nature [on camera]. It's not something we'd be thrilled about."
Apparently, the Ravens also want to stay as far away from Hard Knocks as possible. The team actually used an excuse to get out of the show last year.
Ravens told league last year that their ongoing facility renovations would prevent them from being able to hold all the necessary HBO manpower and equipment for show. Plus, no fans were at practices, which would've hurt the entertainment value of show.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) January 2, 2018
According to the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens again want no part of the show and will do it only if they're absolutely forced to be on it.
So that leaves us with the Broncos, Browns, Chargers and Redskins.
My personal vote would go to the Browns because everyone loves trainwreck television and coming off an 0-16 season, that's kind of what Browns are now. The Broncos would also be interesting because they still need a quarterback and watching John Elway complain about quarterback play for five consecutive weeks would be a fascinating case study into human emotion.
If they picked the Chargers, at least one entire episode would have to be devoted to Philip Rivers. Not only does he have eight kids who could probably entertain us with hours of television, but we could also get an inside look at his 90-minute daily commute from North San Diego to Los Angeles for practice.
Finally, there's Washington. If the Redskins get picked, NFL Films would need to get the cameras rolling as soon as possible so they can document every second of the Kirk Cousins' negotiation, which will probably go somewhat like a hostage negotiation if the past few years are any indication.
