Fields, Jets vs. Wilson, Giants and Top Games on 2025 NFL Preseason Schedule

NFL fans, start updating your August plans accordingly.

The league announced the full 2025 preseason slate for all 32 teams on Wednesday.

As is the custom, the Hall of Fame Game will serve as the curtain-raiser. The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers will face off on July 31 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Here's the rest of the preseason schedule that will receive the national television treatment:

• Aug. 17: Chicago Bears vs. Buffalo Bills (Fox)
• Aug. 18: Washington Commanders vs. Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN)
• Aug. 21: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots (Prime Video)
• Aug. 22: Tennessee Titans vs. Minnesota Vikings (CBS)

A trio of quarterback battles figure to drive a ton of discourse in the weeks leading up to the regular season.

None is more difficult to read than that of the Cleveland Browns, who will head into the preseason with Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. There are multiple layers of intrigue within just this one positional fight.

There's the question of whether Pickett or Flacco will claim the starting job. Neither is a shoo-in for QB, so they'll need to impress the coaching staff during training camp and in the Browns' three preseason clashes.

Then there's Sanders, who had one of the steepest draft-day falls in recent memory. As a fifth-round pick, he can't afford to go through the motions this summer. He has to earn a spot on the 53-man active roster.

Cleveland is also about to experience the headaches that come with having a famous quarterback buried in the depth chart. It won't take much for Sanders fans to argue he warrants the starting job, which can be a tricky dynamic to balance.

The Browns' matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 23 will likely be their most consequential, as it's the last chance for Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders to make a final impression on head coach Kevin Stefanski. That's one to circle on the calendar.

When it comes to the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts, there's a little more certainty as to who will start, but some questions remain unresolved.

The Giants' decision to trade back into the first round of the draft and take Jaxson Dart further reinforces how Russell Wilson is a one-year stopgap. While Jameis Winston is signed through 2026, he's equally unlikely to be a long-term solution.

Should he turn heads, maybe Dart will beat out Winston to become the backup, thus putting himself in a prime position to capitalize should head coach Brian Daboll lose faith in Wilson down the line.

The Giants take on the New York Jets on Aug. 16 in a game that could pit Wilson against former teammate Justin Fields, depending on whether they both play. In general, Fields may see a high volume of reps for somebody who's the clear QB1 since he's on a new team with a first-year head coach.

Over in Indianapolis, Daniel Jones could apply some pressure to Anthony Richardson. At the very least, it looks as though the Colts signed Jones to light a fire under Richardson.

Head coach Shane Steichen has already benched Richardson once, so it stands to reason he'd do it again if he thought it was warranted.

There's a strong body of evidence supporting the idea Jones isn't a starting-caliber quarterback, but Richardson hasn't made a compelling case for himself through two years, either.

The 2023 first-round pick is entering a pivotal season in his Colts tenure.