Tuesday, April 16, 2013

NFL Will Announce 2013 Schedule on Thursday

In March, the Sports Business Journal's John Ourand tweeted that the NFL would announce the 2013 regular season schedule on Tuesday, April 16 (today).  The media picked up on Ourand's tweet and began reporting it as fact, but on Monday, the NFL had a not-so-fast announcement.

The league announced Monday that the schedule would not be announced on the 16th.  Rather, the schedule will be announced on a three-hour special on NFL Network at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, the 18th.  Broncos outside linebacker Von MIller will be in-studio on NFL Network to give his take on Denver's schedule, NFLN informed JHSM on Tuesday.

In March, a source close to Denver's front office indicated that the team was expecting to open the season in New Jersey against the Giants on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.  But the Denver Post has been hyping the possibility of the Broncos hosting the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 as the league's season opener.

The NFL's schedule was never officially scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, but it was expected to come then.  The fact that the release has been moved back two days may be an indication that some games—including the season opener—are (or recently were) still being finalized.

At this point, the most likely scenario seems to be either Denver opening against the Giants or hosting the Ravens.  We'll find out on Thursday.