The NFL held its annual spring meeting in Minneapolis and approved some changes and resolutions. One of the most significant changes deals with Thursday night games.
Owners voted 24-8 in favor of opening flexible scheduling to Thursday games.
It creates a scenario where, late in the season, a clunker of a matchup can be swapped for a better one.
There are several rules and limitations.
Rules for potential Thursday night flex
- This only applies to Weeks 13-17.
- The change must be announced at least 28 days before the scheduled game.
- A team that already has two scheduled Thursday night games can’t play in a third.
- The league can flex two games maximum.
- A team cannot play on the road twice on Thursday night.
- The change applies only to the 2023 season unless no games are flexed, in which scenario the option would move to the 2024 season.
The Arizona Cardinals have no scheduled Thursday games but they probably would not be a team involved in a flex, as they are not expected to be very good in 2023 and they do not have a large national following.
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