Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Friday he would like to see the NFL play only two preseason games and expand the regular season to 18 games.
“I like that,” Jones said on 105.3 (KRLD-FM) The Ticket’s Elf and Slater show. “We really talked about it a lot in the negotiations with the players. The league had the right to do that with the consent of the players. Over the last television contracts, we all agreed that we would all agree to expand it if we did go to 18 and two preseason [games]. I’m for that.”
Jones added: “As far as the NFL is concerned, I think it’s a real positive. We want to show how good the NFL and this new CBA, or labor agreement, how we’re doing relative to injury. That’s a factor here. Do you get more chance of injury in 18 games than you do in 16 (regular season games) with four preseason (games)? The facts are that you could make a case that there’s less exposure to injury. Although, they wouldn’t buy that. But it could be because there’s less two-a-days and less work in the games. The preseason games are played by [many] people that don’t make the team.
“I can give you a lot of reasons why I think it’s good for the NFL. I really think it’s good for the players. I know it’s great for the fans. I hope we can work to do that.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday that having four preseason games is an “issue” for the league and reducing the number is being evaluated.
“One, you have a question whether we really need it to put on the best quality product,” Goodell said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Two, you have an issue of how our fans are reacting to it, and they’re not reacting positively. It’s not the kind of standard that the NFL is used to producing.”
Jones added Friday that Jason Garrett and his coaching staff might not be in favor of the move.
“Coaches have a tough time with that because they want that time in game-type conditions to put in their offense and put their team together,” Jones said. “So, that’s an issue there.”
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