Sports
Expect ever-evolving NFL to make many changes for next season. Here's what to expect
Roger Goodell is always looking for a new way to shake up the status quo.
That doesn’t mean making changes for the sake of making changes, but the NFL commissioner encourages alterations that push the envelope. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
Put the draft in prime time, and move it from city to city…
Allow choreographed touchdown/turnover celebrations, speed up pace of play, move back PAT kicks…
Shrink the preseason and expand the regular season…
Change kickoffs, dramatically expand the international schedule, play games on Black Friday, Christmas Day and the first Friday of the season…
Goodell’s philosophy is that success inhibits innovation. He doesn’t want to hear, “This is how we’ve always done it,” or, “What did we do on that day last season? Let’s do it again.”
So, on the heels of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl victory, and as the league heads into another offseason, it’s safe to say more changes are afoot, even if they have yet to fully take shape.
First, the changes that are built into the game, the reshuffling of rosters. Among the star players who almost certainly will be changing teams are All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp — the Rams have been looking for a trade partner — defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, and quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets, Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings and Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.
What other changes could be in store?
The Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to a game in Dublin, which is fitting considering the late Dan Rooney, the longtime team president and owner, was a former U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
The Indianapolis Colts will play in Berlin and the Miami Dolphins are headed to Madrid. Expected to be announced is a second consecutive game in Sao Paulo, likely another Friday game after the Thursday Kickoff Opener.
Saquon Barkley and the Eagles opened their season last fall with a victory over the Packers in Brazil.
(Fernando Llano / Associated Press)
The Eagles were the home team for an opener in Sao Paulo last fall, and look how their season finished. And remember the 2007 New York Giants, the ones who stunned the then-undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl? They played a London game that season.
International games are no longer viewed as exotic or disruptive. The NFL ultimately could wind up playing a full slate of 17 games beyond the U.S. borders, a globe-trotting barnstorming tour possibly instead of a fixed international franchise. We already know the Rams will be playing a 2026 game in Melbourne almost certainly as a season opener.
Another Mexico City game is in the works, but there are stadium issues that need to be resolved.
It used to be that the NFL would never have teams play multiple short weeks in a season — a club playing a Monday game followed by a Sunday game, more than once per year. Now, it happens all the time. Watch for one or more teams to play three games in 11 days — Monday, Sunday then Thursday.
The Baltimore Ravens played three games in 11 days last season — Sunday, Saturday, Wednesday — and went 3-0.
In terms of scheduling, remember that now every game is a “free agent,” meaning the visiting team doesn’t determine the network, as it did forever in the NFL.
For instance, think back to those years when Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning was the “best” game of the regular season. That alternated back and forth between CBS and NBC. Now many people consider that game to be Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen. It’s eligible for Fox, too. The NFL also has put some big games on ESPN and it’s continuing to grow Amazon Prime as an showcase as well, so don’t be shocked if one of those huge games winds up on a streaming platform.
The NFL won’t be going to an 18-game schedule in 2025. That will require a lot of negotiations between the league and the NFL Players Assn., but the concept will percolate throughout the season as will a further reduction of the preseason, probably landing on 18 regular-season games and two weeks of preseason games.
Officiating was under particular scrutiny this season, with a widely pervasive feeling that the Kansas City Chiefs, who won every close game in 2024, seemed to get all the breaks from the team in stripes. Watch for the league to expand the list of reviewable plays, possibly to include facemask calls or non-calls.
“This game has gotten so much faster,” Goodell said in his annual Super Bowl news conference. “You’re seeing so much that you didn’t even six years ago. I challenge all of you — go back and look at an NFL game from 2000 — the quality of what you see, the cameras, the angles, the number of cameras, you see an awful lot more.
“So we want to use technology to supplement and to assist and support the officials getting it right. Replay assists this year, I think, was a big step forward for us. I see in the future us adding more plays, and we’ll look at that with the competition committee.”
The new kickoff format was adopted on a one-year basis, and the likelihood is that will be made permanent this spring. There could be some tweaks, though, such as moving touchbacks from the 30-yard line to the 35.
The league liked the numbers it saw out of the so-called dynamic kickoffs, including returns increasing 57% from 2023. Even with 332 plays added back into the game, the league said, there were fewer injuries on kickoffs than incurred the previous season with the traditional format.
Look for the league to make permanent the concept of flexing games into the Thursday Night Football window. The NFL did that once in two years — Denver at the Chargers in Week 16 last season — and was happy with the results. The process wasn’t as disruptive as many people had feared. Still, those types of scheduling adjustments figure to be rare.
NFL games on Christmas Day, streamed on Netflix, were a big hit last season. Watch for the league to do that again, as Christmas falls on a Thursday, and to expand the Dec. 25 schedule from two games to three, matching Thanksgiving Day.
Green Bay will play host to the draft this year, a major event for that city, which doesn’t have the hotels (or weather) to play host to a Super Bowl. Some of Lambeau Field will be used for the draft, as will the surrounding tailgating areas.
The following year, the draft will be in Pittsburgh, another historic NFL city that’s unlikely to get a Super Bowl but that the league feels is deserving of a major event.
Sports
Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Police have released new video showing former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon speeding before crashing his 2024 Bentley Continental GT into another luxury car on a Connecticut highway last summer.
McMahon appeared to be followed by a state trooper in Westport moments ahead of the eventual collision. McMahon’s vehicle reached speeds of more than 100 mph, state police said.
A trooper’s dashcam video showed McMahon accelerating and then braking too late to avoid rear-ending a BMW. The car McMahon was driving then swerved into a guardrail and careened back across the highway. A cloud of dirt, apparently mixed with vehicle debris, was visible in the immediate area of the crash.
WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on Apr 3, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” a state trooper asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday,” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No serious injuries were reported in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police bodycam video, Vince McMahon is questioned in his car after an accident on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Connecticut. (Connecticut State Police via The Associated Press)
Aside from the damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, police video suggested.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. In October, a state judge allowed him to enter a pretrial probation program that could erase the charges if he completes it successfully.
He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution. His attorney, Mark Sherman, called the crash simply an “accident.”
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
Vince McMahon attends a press conference to announce that WWE Wrestlemania 29 will be held at MetLife Stadium in 2013 at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)
State police said a trooper was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape.
“I’m trying to catch up to you, and you keep taking off,” State Police Det. Maxwell Robins said in the video.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon clarified.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and added he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to obtain the police video, which was first acquired by The Sun.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
‘Just go out and pitch.’ Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow is efficient in his first spring start
PHOENIX — Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow is an admitted overthinker. But you wouldn’t know it based on his efficient first spring training start Thursday against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch.
Glasnow pitched two-plus innings, retiring the first six batters before coming out after giving up a single to start the third inning. Using a pitch mix that included a fastball that sat at 97 mph, Glasnow struck out the side in the first inning before recording another strikeout to close out the second. Having thrown just 28 pitches, Glasnow started the third inning and threw three more pitches before coming out of the Dodgers’ 7-6 win.
“Very in rhythm,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “Very efficient, used his entire pitch mix, it was really good. Good to see him get into the third inning. Positive day.”
The 32-year-old entering his third season with the Dodgers credits his coaches for keeping his mechanics on point.
“It allows me to just go out and pitch and be athletic,” Glasnow said after his outing. “I’m able to just go out and play baseball as opposed to trying to tinker and fix certain stuff.”
Though he was plagued by injuries in his second season with the Dodgers, Glasnow finished on a high note, giving up just four earned runs over 21-1/3 postseason innings, good for a 1.69 ERA, pitching as a starter and a reliever. It was Glasnow’s first taste of the postseason as a Dodger, since a right-elbow injury ended his 2024 campaign in August, and was highlighted by his first career save in Game 6 of the World Series.
Glasnow called the experience “great.”
“When you go in with all those nerves and that pressure and that excitement, it’s just such an unbelievable feeling to go out [there],” he said last week. “Especially to be a starter and a reliever and just to be thrown into different situations. It was awesome. It was extremely memorable for me, and I’m craving to do it again. And hopefully we can do it again and get a three-peat.”
Looking to build off his impressive postseason, Glasnow enters the season with a newfound confidence.
Last year Glasnow was placed on the injured list because of right shoulder inflammation at the end of April and did not pitch again until just before the All-Star Break. The Santa Clarita native has a long history of injuries — including Tommy John surgery in 2021 — and never has clocked more than 135 innings in a season.
Over the winter he got married and made adjustments that he hopes will better his health. A successful season means staying off the IL.
“Pitching well and staying healthy,” Glasnow said when asked about goals. “Just doing all that and trying to make as many starts as I can, and just executing every start and being healthy in the postseason.”
Sports
Tage Thompson Responds To MAGA Hat Criticism After Team USA Gold: ‘Proud To Be An American’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
NEWARK, N.J. – It’s been a long few days for Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson. He scored a critical goal for Team USA in the team’s semifinal match against Slovakia, and then went on to help the U.S. ultimately defeat Canada on Sunday to capture the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Thompson admitted after Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, the first NHL game for Buffalo since the Olympic break, that he was tired, rusty and sluggish on the ice. But most fans wouldn’t know it. Thompson scored Buffalo’s first goal of the night and assisted on the second as the Sabres emerged with a 2-1 victory over the Devils.
New Jersey Devils’ Jack Hughes, right, and Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson gesture to fans before an NHL hockey game in Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Jack Hughes, a Devils star and the Team USA skater who scored the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat Canada, was honored by the team during a pregame ceremony. Hughes pulled an incredibly classy move and brought Thompson out to center ice, so the crowd could cheer the pair together.
Still, as impressive as Thompson’s return to the ice was, the story for much of the media following Team USA’s historic gold medal win revolves around the team’s trip to the White House and appearance during Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Trump.
White House Visit, MAGA Hat Photo Spark Backlash
Thompson, in particular, found himself in the crosshairs of the radical left-wing media mob because he was photographed wearing Trump’s famous “Make America Great Again” hat alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt and several teammates.
Karoline Leavitt shared a photo to social media posing with deputy director of communications, Margo Martin, and several members of Team USA. The photo included Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, Jack and Quinn Hughes, and Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson. Both Hughes brothers wore red and white USA hats, while Thompson sported a “Make America Great Again” hat, prompting widespread backlash on social media. (Karoline Leavitt via Instagram)
I asked Thompson after the game if he had any response to the criticism over his hat choice.
“I’m proud to be an American, and I have my own faith, my own beliefs, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, as well,” Thompson said diplomatically as he sat at his locker after the game. “I think we should be able to live in peace knowing that not everyone’s going to agree with you.”
Speaking of Thompson’s faith, I also asked him about his Christian beliefs that helped shape everything in his life.
“Jesus is everything to me. Obviously, we’re made imperfect. We’re all sinners, and we need him. And I fall short every single day, and he’s the one I rely on,” Thompson said.
Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
“I think when you have that sense of hope, the grace and the mercy that I receive every day from him is something that gives me peace and joy in life, no matter what I do. And he’s blessed me with this game and this opportunity to play the game I love at a high level, a beautiful family and friends, people surround me that I love. And I’m just very grateful.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
I think American hockey fans can confidently say they are grateful to Tage Thompson and all the players on the Team USA men’s hockey squad that helped deliver one of the most monumental gold medals in U.S. Winter Olympics history.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
World1 day agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts2 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Oklahoma1 week agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Louisiana4 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology6 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Denver, CO2 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology6 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making