As NFL players begin to get their bodies and minds right for another long season, they've heard more rumblings about the league potentially expanding to an 18-game schedule.
While 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy isn't necessarily opposed to the idea, he would prefer a second bye week so players can be better rested for the extended season.
"If that is the case, I think two byes would be nice. It's a long season, man," Purdy told reporters Tuesday at 49ers OTAs. "You go through so much physically, mentally, everything. So if we're going to extend it another game, I think another bye would be nice, but at the same time, [the season] is longer.
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"I don't know how everyone around the league feels about it. I know that we're going through it every week in and week out to get back to the next game, so I don't know. there are pros and cons to it. I don't really know how I feel 100 percent on it yet."
Purdy addresses the possibility of an 18-game NFL season 🔽 pic.twitter.com/MDfi16gLnJ
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) May 21, 2024
Purdy's 49ers teammate, star defensive end Nick Bosa, however, wasn't as hesitant with his words.
And after four seconds of silence and head shaking, the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher made his stance on the matter much more clear.
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"I don't know how many games they can just keep adding," Bosa said Tuesday. "I don't know why one more needs to be added, but it's not my job."
"I don't know why one more needs to be added."
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) May 21, 2024
Bosa explains why he's against the idea of a new 18-game NFL season pic.twitter.com/P03PoB2q8x
When asked if it's safe to assume he's against it, Bosa responded: "Yeah," adding that he thought the 16-game, four-four-four-four schedule format was a good setup, but "it's all good" and "I'll play it."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last month suggested a scenario in which teams played two preseason games, 18 regular-season games (one more than the current 17-game slate) and a Super Bowl scheduled during President's Day weekend.
While the possibility has garnered mixed reactions from players, coaches and others around the league, a common rebuttal has been to implement the second bye week.
Bosa's not a big fan of that, either.
"Yeah but then we got to shorten the offseason program a little bit," Bosa said. "No comment."
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