The draft will get underway in less than two weeks and the biggest thing left on the NFL's offseason schedule once that is in the books is the schedule release.
NFL vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling Mike North shed some light on when that will happen this week. During an appearance on the It's Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast, North said that "somewhere in the May 13, 14, 15 range is probably still our target" for releasing the schedule.
North said the timing of the draft is the biggest reason to wait for the schedule release and that they will take "a week or so to react and adjust" to what happens in Green Bay — and what Aaron Rodgers might decide to do — before finalizing the schedule.
"Of the benefits of going a little bit later with schedule release is getting a chance to see what happens in the draft," North said. "What do any of us know, but I think we kind of a feel for the top couple of picks. But are there some trades gonna happen? Still waiting on a future Hall of Fame quarterback to sign somewhere maybe this year. Hopefully a lot of that is known by draft day."
In recent years, the league has primed the pump by announcing international, holiday or other standalone games in the days leading up to the full release. May 15 is a Thursday and picking that day would give the NFL a chance to use the whole week to turn attention toward the 2025 season.
