The NFL is expected to revisit flexing of Thursday Night Football in late May at the Spring League Meeting after seeing a vote by the owners failing to pass recently. Among the teams who opposed the flex was the Saints. The league needed 24 votes to pass, but it was met with a 22-8 tally with two abstentions from the Broncos and Panthers.
Peter King of NBC Sports first reported that New Orleans was a part of the opposition. The league's flex scheduling proposal would involve Weeks 14 to 17 for Thursday Night Football. Last year's TNF matchups saw the Rams and Raiders (Week 14), 49ers and Seahawks (Week 15), Jaguars and Jets (Week 16), and Cowboys and Titans (Week 17).
The Giants, Jets, Chicago, New Orleans and Green Bay were among those who opposed the flex. For Green Bay, a ton of fans both follow them on the road and make bucket-list pilgrimages to Lambeau Field for games, and the Packers felt it unfair to have potentially thousands of fans be stuck with travel issues should a game be moved from Sunday to Thursday, or vice versa. Carolina and Denver abstained. With 24 votes needed for passage, the vote was 22 to 8 with the two abstentions. The NFL will arm-twist, most likely, prior to the next league session in late May, and unless the anti forces can muster some momentum, it’s likely the measure will pass then.
There are certainly some logistical nightmares involved when talking about the move. It obviously would assure higher revenue for the league, but there is considerable risk in how things play out for fans. Of course, that whole player safety angle is another topic. The NFL schedule is going to be out by mid-May, and most fans will book travel arrangements by then.
Aside the normal rotation of NFC South opponents for the Saints, they have Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New England on the road schedule. Just imagine if you have something booked for a matchup late in the year and have to alter your plans by several days. Places like Houston and Los Angeles aren't as bad to manage, but what about the others?
We'll see what happens here, but it sounds like it'll be a real option sooner rather than later. If and when it passes, it sounds like the cautious approach will be to wait and see if the schedule does get affected.
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