Bickering about an 18 game season is setting the tables for change

Glendale, AZ, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goddell at the the NFC Championship between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport) | Getty Images

One interesting piece of news getting chatter this week is a vocal push back by the NFLPA regarding adding an 18th game to the NFL season.

The NFL wants 18 games. The NFL also wants more international games. Preseason games are boring.

Dropping one preseason game for an extra regular-season game seems like a no-brainer at first glance.

But the players are pushing back, and with good reason in my mind. As a fan, I'd love to see more actual meaningful games instead of watching a bunch of players who aren't going to play in the regular season. But I'm also a fan of the players, and these games aren't played without a cost.

Players put their health on the line every week. You probably wouldn't know it, but most players don't make it through a season without an injury of some sort.

That extra game means more wear and tear for the players that they don't have to go through in the current arrangement. Sure, our starters will play a quarter or two each preseason game, but that's not the same workload as a full game.

I do think that the change will happen at some point. I think this is largely saber-rattling by the NFLPA to set the table for getting more for the players since so much more is being asked of them.

Now it is only a question of how soon the format will change.

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