Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Today isn't just any Thursday though, it's the Thursday of the 2023 NFL schedule release! At 8 p.m. ET tonight, the NFL will be unveiling all 272 games on the regular season schedule. Of course, you probably won't have to wait that long for the unveiling and that's because there's a good chance that all 272 games are going to leak out before tonight. As a matter of fact, the Packers' ENTIRE schedule has already leaked out.
If you can't wait until tonight to see the schedule, I've got some good news for you: We'll be tracking leaks all day and you can check that out by clicking here.
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. All right, let's get to the rundown.
1. 2023 NFL schedule release is today
The release of the 2023 NFL schedule is finally here. At 8 p.m. ET tonight, all hell is going to break loose and that's because every team in the NFL will be releasing its schedule at the same time. To help make sense of the chaos, CBS Sports HQ will have coverage starting promptly at 8 p.m. ET with Pete Prisco, Bryant McFadden, Danny Kanell, Brady Quinn and Todd Fuhrman all breaking down the 2023 schedule.
There are a total of 272 games on the schedule this year, but not all of those will be announced tonight and that's because some of them have already been announced.
Here are the 13 games on the 2023 schedule that the NFL has officially announced so far (All games on Sunday, unless noted):
Week 1 (Thursday, Sept. 7): Lions at Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Week 1 (Sept. 11): Bills at Jets, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Week 4 (Oct. 1): Falcons at Jaguars in London, 9:30 a.m. ET (ESPN+)
Week 5 (Oct. 8): Jaguars at Bills in London, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
Week 5 (Oct. 8): Cowboys at 49ers, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Week 6 (Oct. 15): Titans vs. Ravens in London, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
Week 9 (Nov. 5): Dolphins at Chiefs in Frankfort (Germany), 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
Week 10 (Nov. 12): Colts at Patriots in Frankfort (Germany), 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
Week 12 (Friday, Nov. 24): Dolphins at Jets , 3 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime)
Week 13 (Dec. 3): 49ers at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 16 (Monday, Dec. 25): Raiders at Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET (CBS and Nickelodeon)
Week 16 (Monday, Dec. 25): Giants at Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 17 (Dec. 31): Bengals at Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
If you can't wait until 8 p.m. ET for the schedule release, then you'll want to go ahead and head to our live blog, which will be breaking down every leak and rumor that comes out throughout the day. You can check out the live blog by clicking here.
2. NFL schedule leaks are already happening
After I finish writing this newsletter, I will be spending the rest of the day tracking scheduling leaks and if you want to follow along with me, you can do that by clicking here, where we have our full list of leaked games.
The leaks generally start off slow every year, but as the day goes on, they start trickling out at a much faster pace. Last year, we saw more than 150 of the NFL's 272 regular season games leaked before the official schedule was released at 8 p.m. ET.
If you're wondering whether there have been any leaks yet this year, the answer is yes.
Here's a look at a few of the leaks we have so far (All games on Sunday, unless noted)
- Week 1 (Sept. 10): Panthers at Falcons (Bryce Young's first game)
- Week 1 (Sept. 10): Cowboys at Giants (Sunday night)
- Week 2 (Sept. 17): Dolphins at Patriots (Sunday night)
- Week 2 (Thursday, Sept. 14): Vikings at Eagles
- Week 8 (Oct. 29): Jets at Giants
- Week 12 (Thursday, Nov. 23): Commanders at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS) -- Thanksgiving
- Week 12 (Thursday, Nov. 23): 49ers at Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC) -- Thanksgiving
- Week 13 (Monday, Dec. 4): Bengals at Jaguars
The one thing about leaks is that they're not official, so if you're a 49ers fan who wants to watch your team on Thanksgiving, you probably shouldn't book a flight to Seattle until the NFL officially announces the game. Once again, if you want to follow the a breakdown of all the leaks, you can do that in our live blog here. However, if you just want a running list of all the leaks, you can see that here.
3. Packers' entire schedule appears to have leaked
When I mentioned above that the leaks generally get off to a slow start in the morning, apparently, I lied, because the leaks are already piling up. The biggest leak so far is from Green Bay, where the Packers' ENTIRE schedule has been leaked out.
Here's a look at the Packers schedule (via the Athletic):
Week 1 (Sept. 10): Packers at Bears, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 2 (Sept. 17): Packers at Falcons, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 3 (Sept. 24): Saints at Packers, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 4 (Thursday, Sept. 28): Lions at Packers, 8:15 p.m. ET (Amazon)
Week 5 (Monday, Oct 9): Packers at Raiders, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Week 6: BYE
Week 7 (Oct. 22): Packers at Broncos, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
Week 8 (Oct. 29): Vikings at Packers, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 9 (Nov. 5): Rams at Packers, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 10 (Nov. 12): Packers at Steelers, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
Week 11 (Nov. 19): Chargers at Packers, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 12 (Thanksgiving): Packers at Lions, 12:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 13 (Dec. 3): Chiefs at Packers, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Week 14 (Monday, Dec. 11): Packers at Giants, 8:15 p.m ET (ESPN)
Week 15 (Dec. 17): Buccaneers at Packers, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 16 (Dec. 24): Packers at Panthers, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Week 17 (Dec. 31): Packers at Vikings, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Week 18 (Jan. 6 or 7): Bears at Packers
Looking at the leaked games, two things stand out to me: First, the NFL didn't do any favors for Jordan Love. The Packers new quarterback is going to have to open the season with two straight road games. Also, the Packers also have to hit the road for both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, which is something that most players on the roster probably won't be thrilled with.
One interesting quirk is that the Packers will be playing two Thursday games against the Lions.
As I've already mentioned, the leaks should be coming at a fast and furious pace today and if you want to keep track of them all, you can do that in our live blog by clicking here. If you don't feel like following a live blog, we also have a full list of every game that has leaked and you can see that by clicking here (The list will be updated constantly throughout the day).
4. Chiefs headed to the White House in June
For the first time in franchise history, the Kansas City Chiefs are going to visit the White House to celebrate a Super Bowl win.
Here's what you need to know:
- Chiefs heading to Washington DC in June. The team announced that the trip will be taking place on June 5. Although the Chiefs just won their third Super Bowl, they've never been to the White House before. When they won Super Bowl IV, the tradition of visiting the president hadn't started yet. When they won Super Bowl LIV, they didn't get to go due to COVID.
- Chiefs will be just the second team since 2018 to head to DC. For most of the past 40 years, it was pretty much a lock that teams would visit the White House after winning the Super Bowl, but that hasn't been the case recently. The Chiefs are going to be just the second team over the past six seasons to make their way to the White House. The only other team to do it was the Buccaneers, who visited after winning Super Bowl LV in February 2021. The Eagles (Super Bowl LII), Patriots (Super Bowl LIII), Chiefs (Super Bowl LIV) and Rams (Super Bowl LVI) all were unable to go for one reason or another.
Although the Chiefs are visiting, the White House isn't for everyone. The University of Georgia football team actually announced on Wednesday that it would NOT be making the trip to DC to celebrate its second-consecutive national championship.
5. Jordan Love talks: Packers new starting QB finally meets with the media
Jordan Love has taken part in plenty of press conferences over his three-year career, but the one he held on Wednesday was different and that's because he was meeting with the media for the first time since being given the Packers' starting QB job.
With Aaron Rodgers now in New York, Love seemed to answer questions much more openly and here are a few of the things that he had to say.
- Love didn't know if he'd ever start for the Packers after Rodgers signed his new deal in March 2022. "I'll admit, I think the hardest time was when [Aaron Rodgers] re-signed the contract last year," Love said. "It was kind of like, 'Well, where do we go from here? What do I do?' I think I sat back, thought to myself and just came back with the approach like, 'Let's just go ball out any opportunity I get.' I'm going to get preseason, and who knows what happens after that? So just grow and try and become the best version of myself, and I can't really control what happens after that, so let it play out."
- Love didn't sound thrilled that he had to sit on the bench for three years. "It's very hard to be patient, it's not easy," Love said. "Obviously, you want to be the guy. Everyone wants to be the guy. Everyone wants to be on the field making plays. It's not easy, but it was the situation I was put in. Nothing I could do about it. ... What I could control about that situation was how I approached each day, how I learned, and grew."
- Rodgers was a positive influence on Love. When Rodgers replaced Brett Favre, the two never really got along, but that hasn't been the case with Love and Rodgers. "I learned a lot," Love said of Rodgers. "I was just able to watch a great quarterback: how he works every day, how he handles business in the locker room, interacts with teammates, and how he attacks every day. To be able to sit back as a quarterback and observe him, his footwork, how the ball comes out of his hands, how he practices every day and takes it into the game, is very valuable stuff that I was able to pick his brain on and watch him work."
You can see our full story on Love by clicking here.
6. Extra points: Patriots to honor Tom Brady
It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- Tom Brady invited to Patriots' home opener. The Patriots are planning to honor the six-time Super Bowl winner at their home opener. It's not clear if Brady's jersey will be retired or what exactly is going to happen, but you can bet there will be a festive atmosphere in Foxboro on Sept. 10.
- Jalen Carter facing lawsuit. The Eagles first-round pick could be facing some legal trouble. The father of former Georgia football player Devin Willock has filed a wrongful death lawsuit and Carter is among the multiple defendants named in the suit. Willock was killed in January while riding in a car that was allegedly racing Carter's vehicle. Carter did plead no contest to charges of racing and reckless driving, but he won't face any jail time. You can check out more details on the lawsuit here.
- Lamar Jackson still hasn't shown up for offseason workouts. Fresh off signing his $260 million contract, you'd think that Jackson might start showing up for offseason workouts, but that hasn't been the case. It's been nearly a week since the Ravens QB signed his deal and he still hasn't shown up, according to ESPN.
- Jaguars might be kicked out of their stadium for two years. The mayor Jacksonville (Lenny Curry) dropped some interesting information this week. According to Curry, TIAA Bank Stadium is in serious need of renovations and when those renovations begin, the Jags will likely have to vacate the building for up to two years. Curry said he expects the Jags to remain in Jacksonville during that time, but there's no guarantee that will happen.
- Shaq Mason gets three-year extension from Texans. The Texans locked up a key member of their offensive line on Wednesday when they gave offensive guard Shaq Mason a three-year extension that's worth up to $36 million. The new deal comes just two months after mason was traded from Tampa Bay to Houston.
- Saints sign Foster Moreau to three-year deal. The former Raiders tight end scored a three-year, $12 million deal with the Saints on Wednesday in what is easily one of the most remarkable stories of the offseason. Moreau was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in March and after just two months, he's already healthy enough to return to the NFL.
