As the NFL prepares for the next collective bargaining agreement, it would like to implement a 17-game regular-season schedule, as well as expand the playoff field, among other changes.
While many players are against playing a 17th game, Super Bowl champion and free agent cornerback Chris Harris Jr., believes it’s manageable.
“We’re going to take off training camp, take a lot off preseason – those practices are damn near harder than the games,” Harris said on Tiki & Tierney. “So I think taking that off, taking those off, I think guys will be able to play 17 games. . . . As long as the offseason is shortened to where guys aren’t just full load all the way around all year, I think guys will be [okay with it]. Me personally, I could do another game, but I got to talk to some of the D-Linemen and O-Linemen. They’re like, ‘No, it absolutely cannot happen.’”
If the league adopts a 17-game regular season, it will have to determine payment for the added game.
“Of course we have to get paid for that extra game,” said Harris, 30. “I think right now, that’s been the hold up and the issue of how are we going to get paid for that extra game when we’re already [under] contract for a 16-[game] schedule. Once we get that resolved, I think we can probably move forward.”
As for the playoffs, the NFL would like to expand from 12 teams to 14 teams, with only the top seed in each conference earning a bye.
“I kind of don’t know about the playoff thing,” Harris said. “I think having those two byes for each side, I think that really helps.”