NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Questions Length of Preseason Schedule

The NFL preseason is often perceived as a drawn-out inevitability bearing little consequence before the highly anticipated regular season. League commissioner Roger Goodell recognizes that and is entertaining the idea of shortening pro football's exhibition phase. 

"There are ways to enjoy it. It's just, do we need four (games) anymore?" said Goodell Sunday regarding the preseason, per ESPN.com's Ben Goessling.

For the vast majority of teams, the preseason is a formality that hopefully gets starters some decent live-game reps while avoiding major injuries. Unfortunately, the Green Bay Packers saw a nightmare scenario unfold when leading receiver Jordy Nelson went down with a torn ACL this year.

Oftentimes starters see extended action in the third preseason game. The fourth and final contest serves purely as evaluation, for the most part, as teams seek to trim their rosters to 53 players before the real games start. It isn't exactly the best fan experience.

Trimming at least one game off seems logical in that regard. It also seems as though coaches and front-office personnel have ample time to evaluate their players through minicamps, training camps and the numerous practices therein.

Whether Goodell's decision to cut a preseason game leads to an additional week on the regular-season schedule remains to be seen. In an interview he gave on the Doug and Wolf Show in Phoenix this past week, though, Goodell addressed the possibility, per Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab:

"

(W)e have spent a great deal of time talking about the quality of our preseason. The question from a football standpoint point, Wolf, is do we need three preseason games? Four preseason games? Or could we even go to two?

I think the general view from our Competition Committee and many of our football people is that you certainly could get through with three preseason games. We have not talked about adding a regular-season game because that would have to be collectively bargained with the union. We would not have to, if we reduced from four to three, to do that through collective bargaining.

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Discussion of player-safety issues has been rampant as ever in recent years. In addition to traumatic head injuries dominating the discourse, criticism has emerged over the addition of Thursday night games, demanding players to suit up for two games in a span of five days. Outspoken Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is among the opponents of Thursday as game day.

So any place Goodell and the league office can take players out of harm's way and keep them fresher for the regular season would likely be a policy embraced around football by fans and players alike. But adding another regular-season game may provide even more fuel for critics of player safety.