Don't hold your breath for sweeping changes to the NFL's preseason schedule.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday on "Around The League Live" that, while the NFL has examined structural alterations to the preseason, it's highly unlikely any changes to the number of preseason games will come over the next three to five years, according to a league source.
The reason goes back to a number of NFL stadiums with leases that require teams play 10 home games, according to Rapoport. Re-working those leases could take years. That's how the idea of a two-game preseason followed by an 18-game regular season materialized -- it fulfills the 10-game threshold.
The same league source told Rapoport the 18-game schedule largely has been a media creation and an option that hasn't been discussed internally "for quite some time."
So the four-game preseason schdule is here to stay -- for the time being anyway. This is good news for coaches, who use every minute of the preseason to help determine a 53-man roster. Season-ticket holders, meanwhile, will continue to see the games as a necessary (and very expensive) evil.
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