Jones again touting an 18-game season
Denver to give QB Kelly another chance to shine
The NFL’s preseason product has never been pretty. And Saturday night’s “game” between the Cowboys and Bengals is a prime example of why.
In the preseason, fans have to pay the same costs for tickets and concessions as they would for a regular-season game, only to watch a product that rarely features starting players from either team.
But Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has a solution: eliminate two preseason games and add two more for each team to the regular-season schedule.
But Jones admitted that the process and execution of that plan is complicated in a radio interview on 105.3 The Fan. Here is an excerpt from the question about the preseason.
“My solution is real simple. It’s cut back on preseason games, have one at each team’s home and play a couple of them. And then you need to add two games to the regular season, which I have been a proponent of for several years. And that’s a better equity, or a better way of players using what they bring to the table, their talents, their skills, their professional time in pro sports. That will give them a bigger pay day that’s fair. And the other thing it does is certainly give our fans what we all think they deserve and that’s a competitive game. That’s a mouthful.”
BRONCOS: Chad Kelly has a tenuous hold on the No. 2 quarterback job in Denver, and not because Paxton Lynch is making a push to regain the gig he lost to him this summer.
Kelly gets one more shot at showing he’s a worthy backup to starter Case Keenum when he starts the Broncos’ final preseason game Thursday night at Arizona.
Although he’s won over Broncos fans with a stellar summer, Kelly still has to convince general manager John Elway that it’s not necessary to scour the waiver wire for a more seasoned backup QB.
With Saturday’s cutdown deadline looming, Elway has some big decisions to make at quarterback:
Is Kelly, who spent his rookie season on IR last year, ready to step in if needed after getting precious few snaps with the starters? And is it finally time to give up on the underachieving Lynch?
BROWNS: Baker Mayfield will start for the Browns and then stop — maybe for a while.
The top overall pick — and Cleveland’s quarterback of the future — will make his first NFL start and play as much as a half Thursday night when the Browns visit the Detroit Lions in an exhibition that will feature backups as well as third- and fourth-stringers fighting for roster spots before this weekend’s cuts.
Mayfield’s current job as the Browns’ No. 2 QB behind Tyrod Taylor is secure, but the Heisman Trophy winner is looking forward to a chance to make an another positive impression.
“I’m very ready,” Mayfield said Tuesday following practice. “It’s another opportunity for me. I’ve been saying it over and over again, I need to take advantage of my opportunities and this is a great one to come out and show what I can do from the get-go, set the tone not just for the offense but for the whole team.”
EAGLES: Coach Doug Pederson doesn’t plan to reveal whether Carson Wentz or Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles will start the season opener until 90 minutes before the game.
Wentz has been recovering from surgery last December to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. He is practicing, but hasn’t been medically cleared for contact.
“I’ve made comments that his arm was live and throwing some really, really nice throws and very strong,” Pederson said Tuesday. “Then when he came back into the 11-on-11, one of the noticeable changes again, or differences, was just his lower body strength and how well he’s progressed through his rehab and conditioning.”