Packers draw Chiefs as NFL adds 17th game
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers will at last play an international game – sometime during the next nine seasons.
NFL team owners voted Tuesday to expand the regular season to 17 games beginning this fall and agreed that every team would play an international game at least once during the eight years beginning in 2022. The expansion would seem to get around the obstacles that resulted in the Packers being the only NFL team to not play an international regular-season game.
The Packers always refused to host an international game because of the disproportionate economic impact giving up a home game would have on Green Bay, by far the smallest market in the NFL. The impact of a regular-season game at Lambeau Field is estimated at $15 million. Also, teams hosting international games routinely refused to play Green Bay overseas because they knew the Packers would fill their home stadiums.
The NFL reduced the preseason to three games and designated the AFC to host the extra games this year. Teams will play cross-conference opponents based on 2020 standings. The NFC North will play the AFC West, which means the Packers additional game will be against the Chiefs in Kansas City. Each team won its division in 2020.
All teams will play internationally at least once during the eight-year period beginning in 2022. Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said international games will be assigned by division. In other words, all the NFC North
teams will play international games the same season, either 2022, 2024, 2026 or 2028. The league gave no indication what the rotation would be, he said. Technically, those will be neutral site games.
Murphy said the team will be required to give up one of its home games from 2022 to 2029. It would be during one of the years when the NFC hosts the extra 17th regular-season game. The end result would be that the Packers would host eight regular-season games and one preseason game that year, so Green Bay would essentially lose one preseason home game.
“When you step back and you look at it, for the good of the league, being able to grow the game internationally is really going to benefit the league long-term. The fact that you still have eight home games is a positive,” Murphy said. “I think a lot of our fans are going to be excited about the opportunity to travel internationally and go to London and watch the Packers play.”
The league chose not to add a second bye week to the schedule, but it will move Super Bowl LVI from Feb. 6, 2022, to Feb. 13.
Packers bring back Lancaster
The Green Bay Packers are re-signing defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster, a source said.
Lancaster was a restricted free agent heading into the 2021 new league year. The Packers decided not to tender him a qualifying offer by 3 p.m. March 17, allowing him to test the waters on the open market at the start of free agency.
The right-of-first-refusal tender, the lowest possible offer to restricted free agents, was a one-year contract worth $2.133 million. Lancaster likely signed a one-year deal worth less money.
In his third year with the Packers, Lancaster played 352 defensive snaps in the regular season, which ranked 14th among Green Bay defenders. He saw the bulk of his snaps come on run defense and registered a total of 23 tackles. The 6-3, 313-pound defensive tackle earned no sacks or quarterback hits.
In 2020, Lancaster missed one game with a shoulder injury, Week 7 against the Houston Texans.
The Packers’ defensive line room is now composed of Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, Kingsley Keke, Lancaster, Anthony Rush, Willington Previlon and Delontae Scott. Montravius Adams signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots. Damon Harrison and Billy Winn are unrestricted free agents.