Happy midweek and NFL Schedule Release Day, everyone! John Breech is busy loading our schedule-leak tracker with all kinds of juicy updates, so today’s Pick Six Newsletter is brought to you by Cody Benjamin, with tidbits on all the latest from around the NFL.
Be sure to subscribe right here, to ensure you never miss a daily dose of NFL updates. And keep on reading for everything from official schedule news to some big-name contract drama:
1. Schedule release: Live tracker of leaks, reveals
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The full 2025 NFL schedule will be announced tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network. Until then, John Breech is compiling any and every schedule report and rumor in his running tracker of updates. Want to know the absolute latest on your favorite team’s plans for this fall and winter? Breech has you covered, and he’s listing all the rumored or confirmed matchups in chronological order. Check it out!
2. CBS reveals Chiefs-Cowboys Thanksgiving game
One big game we can confirm: The Dallas Cowboys are set to host the Kansas City Chiefs in the second game of this year’s Thanksgiving tripleheader, as Bill Cowher announced on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday. Dallas is a big draw for 2025, already scheduled to visit the Philadelphia Eagles to kick off the season. Hosting the Chiefs on Turkey Day figures to be just as, if not more, thrilling as K.C. continues to establish itself as a staple of the NFL’s holiday calendar. This one will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
3. NFL announces historic YouTube game
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The NFL will be debuting an all-new broadcast partner this year, announcing this week that YouTube will exclusively carry the league’s Week 1 Friday night game in Brazil, which will feature the Los Angeles Chargers. And not only that, but the stream will be free, just like any other video on YouTube. The Chargers will reportedly “host” the rival Chiefs in this matchup, but that isn’t official just yet. The move comes one year after NBC’s Peacock carried an exclusive stream of the NFL’s Brazil game.
4. Trey Hendrickson sounds off on Bengals (again)
Cincinnati’s All-Pro pass rusher, who led the NFL in sacks in 2024, showed up for offseason workouts this week, only to spend an extended time telling reporters how “disappointed” he is in Bengals brass for failing to communicate regarding his contract. While Hendrickson is technically signed through 2025, he’s been advocating for a longer-term deal for years, he said this week, and feels stalled talks with Cincinnati are becoming “personal,” adding that he’d consider sitting out games if he doesn’t get a new deal.
5. Derek Carr comeback in 2026? Don’t count on it
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Derek Carr just recently announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons. But could the 34-year-old quarterback eye a return to the field in 2026, after a year away from the game? Don’t count on it, according to NBC Sports. The ex-New Orleans Saints veteran is already making “other professional plans” as he recovers from a litany of recent injuries, per Mike Florio, and is more likely to stay on the sidelines.
6. Nicolas Cage is John Madden in upcoming movie
Here’s an off-the-wall finale for you: Just as the NFL prepares to honor Madden by including his name in its 2025 Thanksgiving game promotions, Amazon MGM Studios is kicking off production of a “Madden” movie based on the longtime coach and broadcaster’s unlikely journey from play-caller to video-game icon. Directed by David O. Russell (“The Fighter”), the film stars Nicolas Cage as the former Oakland Raiders boss, with Christian Bale co-starring as former Raiders owner Al Davis.
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Eric Williams NFL Reporter Greg Auman NFL Reporter <!--> Christmas in May is upon us, as the NFL has announced the full regular-season league schedule for all 32 teams. Fans can now book flights, hotels and plan vacations to see their teams on the road, while players and coaches can check their bye weeks and which games will likely be played in inclement weather. With the dates announced, FOX Sports NFL reporters Eric D. Williams and Greg Auman take a closer look at which teams benefited the most from the league’s schedule makers, and which might have a bone to pick with the folks at NFL headquarters. WinnersBy virtue of their surprising last-place finish in the NFC West last season and facing the nose-pinching NFC South and AFC South this year, the 49ers are set up for a bounce-back in 2025. San […]
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The full 2025 NFL schedule was announced on Wednesday.The New York Giants have the toughest road ahead as they open with back-to-back road trips to the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively, followed by a home game against the Kansas City Chiefs. There isn’t much room for excuses for general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll who enter pivotal fourth seasons at the helm.AdvertisementThe Commanders and Chiefs are the most popular spotlight contenders, leading the league with eight standalone games each. Washington is scheduled to play five prime time games, its most since 2017, plus featured matchups in Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid and on Christmas Day against the Cowboys. The Chiefs have seven prime-time contests, and are the popular holiday team with games on Thanksgiving at Dallas and Christmas against […]
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