The NFL schedule release date has become somewhat of a sport in its own right, and ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter weighed in on the highly anticipated 2026 schedule. Every offseason, fans wait on the edge of their seats for the league to announce the upcoming season’s games, wanting to see when they will face their opponents.
Adam Schefter Names Exact Week That 2026 NFL Schedule Could Be Released
The NFL, while thorough in putting together exciting games, recognizes it must give teams sufficient time to prepare for upcoming matchups.
Head coaches and coordinators like to have an early look at schedules to plan for the 18-week season. The study goes so far as to examine player matchups to determine game plans for specific teams.
As such, people want to know when their teams are playing, and Schefter dropped a hint this week.
“The NFL has done a great job of turning [the schedule release] into an event,” he said. “Circle your calendars for the week of May 11, which is usually the time when the NFL schedule comes out. But I think that we’ll get a schedule-release announcement sometime around May 12, May 13, May 14 — somewhere between Tuesday the 12th and Thursday the 14th are the days I have circled on my calendar. Locked in, that I’ll be doing a TV show one night.”
Last year, the Tennessee Titans drafted Miami quarterback Cam Ward first overall, and the youngster started right out of the gate. Fans eagerly wanted to see how the signal-caller fared in a poor offense, which made for a prominent storyline.
The quarterback, while flashing some potential, lost four games before he notched his first NFL win. He went 3-14 under center (59.8 PFSN QB Impact), and fans will be watching him heading into Year 2, as Tennessee made some strategic acquisitions to bolster the roster.
Moreover, enthusiasts are burning to see which teams’ second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart will face next season. Much is expected of the new-look New York Giants in 2026, with head coach John Harbaugh running the ship and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy running the offense. It’s supposed to be the dawn of a new age in the Big Apple, and the upcoming schedule release will give fans a glimpse of what they can expect.
The Giants started the Harbaugh era in fashion by drafting Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa with their two first-round selections.
The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Fernando Mendoza, but he is unlikely to start in Week 1, as the team also signed Kirk Cousins. Similarly, the Los Angeles Rams drafted Ty Simpson, but he is unlikely to see any playing time this season behind Matthew Stafford.
The Kansas City Chiefs traded away Trent McDuffie to the Rams earlier in the offseason, but they replaced him by drafting Mansoor Delane, the former LSU cornerback. As for the Philadelphia Eagles, they look ready to part ways with A.J. Brown as they drafted Makai Lemon in the first round of the draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals traded away the 10th overall pick of the draft to the Giants in exchange for Dexter Lawrence. They have made significant upgrades on defense in the offseason ahead of what could be a crucial year for Joe Burrow’s tenure in Cincinnati.
There are still several weeks left before the rumored release date, and we first have to get past the entire draft.
