Bengals’ Joe Burrow Demands Major Change From Roger Goodell After His Hint at New NFL Schedule

Football is a tough sport, not only because it is physical, but also because it doesn’t leave a lot of room for rest during the regular season. An average regular season has 17 games with just one bye week. This rest week comes as a breather to athletes and perhaps is a blessing to the players as they get to recover. However, Joe Burrow has qualms with this schedule.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback took to X with a plea to Roger Goodell and his associates. His post on X highlighted the want for two bye weeks in the regular season of 18 games. The post is sitting at more than a million views right now and a lot of people seem to back Joe Burrow.

Things haven’t been the same since Burrow suffered a season-ending injury the previous year and perhaps an extra week of rest could have prevented that for the QB. Considering his condition, the NFL stakeholders might listen to what Burrow has to say, weighing out the right options.

Adding another bye week means that everything will be delayed, though. Even the Super Bowl dates might get pushed further if such a schedule were to be adopted by the NFL. The changes also can potentially require other processes like scheduling, and ticketing to change.

David Bakhtiari joined the comment section and had an interesting suggestion to make. He wrote, “10 minute quarters and you got yourself a deal. Goes from 1,020 minutes to 720 minutes. Like playing 12 games with 15 minute quarters. More games = more revenue for all. Less minutes on the field means less risk of injury. Also takes away amount of plays in the “over fatigue” zone, which is where injuries can be more common.”

But it’s not like Joe Burrow is the only one concerned about the fatigue of the regular season. Even Roger Goodell sympathizes with him to some degree.

Is Roger Goodell making a change in the league?

The NFL commissioner came to The Pat McAfee Show and wasn’t opposed to the idea of 18 games and 2 bye weeks. Though he mentioned that those changes will not be taking place any time soon, he didn’t reject the idea completely.

“I think we’re good at 17 now,” Goodell said. “But, listen, we’re looking at how we continue. I’m not a fan of the preseason …” He then added, “The reality is, I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That’s just picking quality. If we get to 18 and two, that’s not an unreasonable thing.”

The last time this schedule was modified was in 2021 when the NFL made it to 17 regular season games and three pre-season games. Hopefully, the NFL devises a schedule that is more player health-centric.