Colts center on Goodell’s wish for 18 games: ‘Put on a helmet for 18 of those games, then come talk to me’
INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Kelly isn’t a fan of the NFL potentially moving to an 18-game regular season. The Colts’ center and longest-tenured player, who is a vice president on the NFLPA’s executive committee, sounded off Wednesday on the possibility of the league adding another game to its regular-season calendar.
“Yeah, 18 games sounds great when Roger (Goodell) is saying it on Pat McAfee’s (show),” Kelly said. “But until you’re the one going out there and putting a helmet on for 18 of those games, yeah, then come talk to me.”
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“I think we’re good at 17 (games) now, but… I’m not a fan of the preseason… I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season any day… If we got to 18 (regular season) and 2 (preseason), that’s not an unreasonable thing,” Goodell recently said.
Kelly is preparing for his ninth season with the Colts. The veteran has been the Colts’ NFLPA representative since 2020, and he’s been a member of the executive committee since 2022. After being involved in NFLPA negotiations over the years, Kelly thinks it would be naïve to think Goodell floated the idea for an 18-game season on a whim.
“I think we’re good at 17 now, but listen, we’re looking at how we continue,” Goodell said during a live taping of the Pat McAfee Show at the NFL Draft in April. “I’m not a fan of the preseason. I don’t think we need three preseason games. I don’t buy it, and I don’t think (fans) like it either. … But the reality is, I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season (game) any day. That’s just picking quality.”
Kelly pushed back on Goodell’s stance, stating that the preseason was an opportunity for late-round draft picks, undrafted prospects and other under-the-radar players to compete for roster spots. He also mentioned “all of the injuries” players go through during a 17-game season that fans wouldn’t understand.
“They don’t know what it takes to play on Sundays,” Kelly said. “I think it’s just too many games.”
Although the current collective bargaining agreement doesn’t expire until after the 2030 season, a change in the schedule is still possible. The NFL moved from a 16-game schedule to 17 games starting in 2021, with 51.5 percent of players voting in favor of the increase.
