📅 The 2026 NFL schedule is coming out this week, releasing on Thursday at 8:00 PM ET.
🍿 It’s schedule week
A bunch of games will be unveiled before the full schedule is released on Thursday night, but we already know a few high-profile games. In Week 1, the Cowboys will face the Giants on Sunday Night Football. John Harbaugh’s first game leading New York will be the eighth time in 15 seasons that these rivals have squared off in Week 1.
To cap Week 1, the Broncos take on the Chiefs on Monday Night Football—a matchup that figures to include Patrick Mahomes’ return from a torn ACL and Bo Nix’s return from a heartbreaking ankle injury that basically ended a potential Super Bowl run for Denver.
On Thanksgiving, the Eagles will go to Dallas to play the Cowboys in the usual 4:30 PM ET slot. Philadelphia was just the first repeat NFC East champion in 21 years, and the NFL probably expects an exciting division once again in 2026.
The Bills will open their new stadium to begin Week 2 on Thursday Night Football. It’s surprising that such a big stadium opener is happening on TNF, but it’s quite the get for Amazon Prime Video.
What else to look for: While games like the season opener (we expect the Bears to go to Seattle), the full Thanksgiving and Christmas schedules, and more will be fun to anticipate—keep an eye on the matchups streamers like Netflix (which has two Christmas games again—and will also reportedly get the new Thanksgiving Eve game) ultimately have. The NFL has been under fire—including now from The White House—for the cost for fans to watch every game each season.
😕 JOK to miss second straight season
The Browns placed star LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on the PUP list, which at this time of year ends his second for the second consecutive year due to a neck injury.
Owusu-Koramoah went down in October of 2024 in a win over the Ravens and has unfortunately been unable to get cleared since—with the PUP list placement following a February report that he is “doubtful” to play again.
JOK turned into an impact player in his third season with 101 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, six passes defended, two interceptions, and a forced fumble, which led to a Pro Bowl selection.
He was well on his way to another Pro Bowl campaign in 2024 before the injury, but Owusu-Koramoah was at least rewarded with a three-year, $39 million extension after his standout 2023 campaign.
🤝 Breece extension and other moves
The Jets are extending star RB Breece Hall on a three-year, $45.75 million deal after placing the franchise tag on him earlier this offseason.
Steelers K Chris Boswell was also extended, signing a four-year, $28 million deal which ties Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey as the top salary at the position in NFL history. Meanwhile, the Packers released K Brandon McManus.
Post-draft signings picked up a good deal over the past week, with a few productive players signing on both sides of the ball across the league:
TE David Njoku (Chargers)
WR Jauan Jennings (Vikings)
EDGE Dante Fowler Jr. (Seahawks)
DL DJ Reader (Giants)
OLB Mike Danna (Bills)
Plus, the Colts officially released Pro Bowl DB Kenny Moore II after nine seasons with the team.
Wolf Sports recently did an internal study comparing our NFL Draft big boards from since we started publicly scouting prospects in 2017 to 2024, and we actually stumbled onto something that puts our track record into a new light: We’ve been highest among public media rankings and real NFL Draft slots on the top player from six of eight draft classes in terms of wAV.
The chances of being highest on a couple of these players—among dozens of draft analysts and NFL teams—is astronomically unlikely. The chances of being highest on a handful? One in tens of millions. You can read about the results here, plus we have a YouTube video on this dropping today (channel here).
If you were wondering why you should keep getting NFL news and analysis from Wolf Sports, there you have it!
📰 More NFL news and notes
Veteran QB Taylor Henicke, who played 11 NFL seasons and had a very memorable playoff performance nearly knocking off Tom Brady and the Bucs, announced his retirement.
Legal news: Charges against free agent CB L’Jarius Snead were dismissed, and free agent WR Stefon Diggs was found not guilty of assaulting his former chef.
The NFL and its officials agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement running through the 2030 season, ending concerns over possible replacement officials for the season.
Fantasy alert: Jaguars GM James Gladstone says the team plans to use Travis Hunter a lot on both sides of the ball, despite talk of a major decline in offensive usage with a set increase on defense.
The Broncos agreed to a contract extension with GM George Paton.
Other Sports Updates
🙏 Rest in Peace: Legendary former Braves manager and World Series champion Bobby Cox passed away at 84.
🏈 Missouri star RB Ahmad Hardy suffered a gunshot wound at a Mississippi concert over the weekend, with his timeline to return unknown at this time.
🏀 March Madness: The NCAA Tournament is expanding to 76 teams in a controversial move.
🏒 The Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery and will have the first pick in the draft.
