The NFL has been doing plenty of things lately to maximize their earning power. Adding a 17th game to the regular season was the biggest move in that regard, but having a matchup on Black Friday starting this year was another decision in that direction.
Thursday night games have been part of the talks lately for a change the league is going to make. When they announced the possibility of flexing those games late in the season to have better matchups, names like Patrick Mahomes and J.J. Watt raised their voices against it.
This week that plan was finally approved, so some games might be flexed later in the year if they don’t feature contenders. Someone who showed support to that notion was Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Jason Kelce in favor of playing Thursday games
Most players have been against Thursday Night Football for a long time. The short rest is the main reason behind it because the chances of picking up injuries seem to be higher. Another explanation is that teams have less time to prepare, so there is always room for unexpected losses. However, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the center.
“I am all for games being played on Thursdays because that means we have walkthroughs during the week and we don’t practice. And then we get three days off after the game. It’s not about laziness. It’s about helping my legs recover and getting fresh. Players that are anti-Thursday night games are just looking to make headlines. There’s no f-ing chance that anyone with half a brain cell is against Thursday night games”, Jason said on his own podcast called “New Heights”.
In the show he co-hosts with his brother Travis he also referred to the possibility of flexing these games: “The other reason I’m a fan of the Thursday night games getting flexed is because I just like good football being on primetime TV. I don’t want to turn my Thursday night television on and have to watch a bad game. I like watching good football and Thursday night is one of the few nights that I get to watch football and just enjoy it as a fan. Let’s get some good freaking matchups”.
