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NFL schedule release winners, losers: Seahawks set up nicely, not high-profile rookies
TL;DR
The 2026 NFL regular-season schedule has been released, revealing key matchups and bye weeks. The Seattle Seahawks are highlighted as a team benefiting from the schedule layout, while high-profile rookies are notably absent.
Key points
- 2026 NFL regular-season schedule released
- Seattle Seahawks benefit from schedule layout
- Absence of high-profile rookies noted
- Fans can now see prime-time matchups
- Bye weeks and division rival games revealed
After days – maybe weeks? – of anticipation, the 2026 NFL regular-season schedule finally emerged fully formed Thursday, May 14, the remaining gaps filled in after the league revealed so many of its showcase matchups throughout the early part of the week while other leaks sprang elsewhere.
And now teams and fans alike know – where are those prime-time battle royales? Is the bye week too early? When is our division rival coming to town?
It’s a lot to sift through – and we’ll do so live over the course of the evening – but let’s anoint the winners and brand the losers of this year’s schedule release:
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)
WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)
1 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
1 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
2 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)
3 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)
4 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)
WINNERS
Seattle Seahawks
They reigning Super Bowl champions host the regular-season kickoff Sept. 9 – a Wednesday due to Labor Day’s Sept. 7 placement on the calendar – against the New England Patriots, the team they whacked in Super Bowl 60 in February. But the early game, along with a Thursday night date at Denver in Week 6, plus a Week 11 bye means the ‘Hawks will enjoy quite a few organic breaks throughout the fall – a nice little advantage for a team seeking to qualify for back-to-back Super Sundays for the second time in franchise history. And the fact that the Seahawks are traveling substantially fewer miles than the division rival Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, who meet in Australia to start the season, doesn’t hurt, either.
NFL’s international footprint
The league's quest for world domination continues – to the point that international matchups are an increasingly commonplace aspect of the schedule. This year, the NFL will stage games in four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums outside of America – with regular-season debuts occurring in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro and Paris.
It doesn’t seem like we’re very far from all 32 teams playing internationally once per season – which would mean one game abroad almost weekly as the league tries to further slake the foreign appetite for its most valuable inventory while also (likely) staving off any urge to expand outside the U.S. … and the logistical nightmare that would entail. For now.
Arizona Cardinals?
Some NFL players and coaches love the glare of the prime-time spotlight. Others love nothing more than suiting up every Sunday afternoon. Hopefully Cards rookie coach Mike LaFleur falls into the latter category, his rebuilding – and seemingly unimposing squad – is the only one in the NFC that will enter the season without being slotted into a single prime-time slot. Hopefully for the Cardinals, being parked on Sunday afternoon’s every week will mean for steady circadian rhythms as they rebuild their operation in the shadow of their far more imposing big brothers in the NFC West.
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)
WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)
1 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
1 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
2 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)
3 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)
4 / 4
2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades
WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)
LOSERS
Jeremiyah Love
Arguably the best player emerging from an unremarkable 2026 NFL Draft – and already the best-paid running back in NFL history in terms of the $53 million in guarantees, a record at his position, emanating from his rookie contract – you’ll apparently be forced to move to Arizona if you want to see anything aside from Love-ly highlights this season given the Cards’ absence from exclusive broadcast windows.
Fernando Mendoza
Want to see the No. 1 pick of this year’s draft in action? Might need to move to Las Vegas … whenever Kirk Cousins is relegated to the bench. But like Love’s Cardinals, Mendoza’s Las Vegas Raiders were not awarded a single prime-time slot this season – one of four AFC squads so relegated along with the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.
Adam Schefter
How much time did it take you – or your army of assistants – to schedule all of those retweets of each team’s social media unveiling of its schedule? Good job, Schefty? Sorry? Stop bombarding us?
NFL Network
For the first time since the broadcasting arm formerly operated under the league’s umbrella was officially acquired and subsequently absorbed by ESPN on April 1, the Worldwide Leader leveraged NFLN’s air to simulcast its two-hour SportsCenter schedule release show – which was also shown on the ESPN mothership. In the past, NFL Network’s “NFL GameDay Morning” crew – including anchor Rich Eisen, Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and others – had done a three-hour broadcast to celebrate the schedule reveal. While Thursday night’s approach makes sense from a streamlining perspective in terms of production costs on shows that would basically share highly duplicative information, it’s probably an even savvier move this year given NFL Network is currently dark on cable giant Comcast following the expiration of its contract with the cable giant on May 1.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 NFL schedule release winners (Seahawks) and losers (Fernando Mendoza)
Q&A
What are the key matchups in the 2026 NFL schedule?
The 2026 NFL schedule features several prime-time matchups, although specific key games were not detailed in the release.
How does the 2026 NFL schedule affect the Seattle Seahawks?
The Seattle Seahawks are positioned favorably in the 2026 NFL schedule, which could enhance their chances for success.
When are the bye weeks for NFL teams in 2026?
The specific bye weeks for NFL teams in 2026 were not mentioned, but teams will need to evaluate their timing based on the full schedule.
Which high-profile rookies are not included in the 2026 NFL schedule?
The article notes that there are no high-profile rookies highlighted in the 2026 NFL schedule release.