Report: NFL ‘exploring’ playing game on Thanksgiving Eve

The NFL is exploring playing a game on Thanksgiving Eve as early as this season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Adding to the holiday tradition, the NFL would schedule a game on Wednesday, November 25th, 2026.

As it stands, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys host Thanksgiving Day games during the early and later afternoon windows. The NFL also provides a primetime game as their third game of the day, generally a division rivalry.

How this game on Wednesday will operate is anyone’s guess. But the NFL has routinely added new game windows in recent years, such as more international games, as well as the Black Friday game.

So in essence, the NFL will have a window of Wednesday through Friday and then Sunday, all during the Thanksgiving week and weekend. Saturday, as of now of course, is reserved for college football’s rivalry weekend, the final slate of the regular season.

NFL schedule changes coming?

The NFL schedule change is the latest news this offseason amid a free agency frenzy. Not only that, Maxx Crosby, the sought after Raiders pass rusher, was initially traded to the Ravens. But after he failed his physical, the trade was nulled and the NFL media cycle was left spinning.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided an update as well. A new timeline emerged and it could, essentially, go towards the NFL Draft.

“The Las Vegas Raiders take back Maxx Crosby,” Schefter said. “They’re taking calls from other teams. Maybe there’ll be a trade that materializes down the line, but right now, he needs to get healthy before he can even pass a physical with another team.”

Host Mike Greenberg suggested it could wait until the NFL Draft as the new league year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET. On that note, Crosby returning to the Raiders is not expected to affect all of the other free agent acquisitions done by the Raiders.