Sports
NFL Schedule 2024: Preseason Opponents, Dates, Times Revealed for All 32 Teams
The NFL released the full schedule for the 2024 preseason Friday, including dates and times for every game.
The league also revealed which five preseason games will be nationally televised, headlined by the preseason-opening Hall of Fame Game between the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears on Aug. 1:
This year’s preseason slate also features a game exclusive to Amazon Prime Video, pitting the Indianapolis Colts against the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 22.
While there is usually a significant amount of excitement surrounding the start of the preseason slate since it essentially represents the commencement of football season, that is even truer this year.
With the Bears and Texans facing off in the Hall of Fame Game, it will potentially give fans their first glimpse of quarterback Caleb Williams, who went No. 1 overall to Chicago in the 2024 NFL draft.
In addition to Williams, the preseason will be a huge barometer for the other five quarterbacks taken in the first round of the draft.
Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders, Drake Maye of the New England Patriots, J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos all have a chance to start in Week 1 of the regular season with strong preseason showings.
The other first-round quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., is ticketed for a backup role with the Atlanta Falcons behind Kirk Cousins, but he can allay some of the concerns fans had about his selection if he shows out during the preseason.
There is also a stacked crop of rookie wide receivers who will take center stage, including Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Arizona Cardinals, Malik Nabers of the New York Giants and Rome Odunze of the Bears.
It is also possible this could be the last year that the current preseason schedule format is in place.
There has been a ton of proverbial smoke surrounding the possibility of expanding the regular season from 17 to 18 games. If that happens by next year, it would shrink the preseason slate to two games for every team.
For now, the three-game preseason schedule remains in place, and it will provide fans with an appetizer before the start of the 2024 regular season.