There were a lot of changes this NFL offseason, including a handful of big trades and the dreaded taunting penalty becoming a point of emphasis for officials, but perhaps nothing was more important than the addition of an extra game to the schedule.
Instead of playing 16 games over 17 weeks, the 2021 season — and beyond — would be made up of 17 games over 18 weeks, leading to a whole lot of potential broken records, player durability issues and more.
It was news to everyone when the plan to expand the season was made late in 2020, but it's old news now that we're quite literally in the middle of it. Somehow, Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku never got the memo.
Eight more games?! That's right — the 5-4 Browns not only have a chance to go 12-4, but could even go 13-4. Or 12-5. Or 5-12, if you really want to be a pessimist about it. And they've got to to three more weeks until they reach their bye, all the way in Week 13, sandwiched right in between massively important clashes with the division-rival Baltimore Ravens.
While Njoku was busy expressing his utter astonishment over the several-months-old piece of news, another player was expressing his dismay that such a rule came into being.
"I think it’s pointless," Tom Brady said on his "Let's Go!" podcast (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “I thought it was a terrible decision. So I don’t like the fact that we’re playing a 17th game at all. I think sixteen is plenty. And, again, you’re eight games into the year and you’re not halfway through, so that’s kind of a little frustrating aspect."
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