The 2018 NFL season was the 99th season of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) and the 53rd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with defending Super Bowl LII champion

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

defeating

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. The season concluded with

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Con ...

, the league's championship game, on February 3, 2019, at

Mercedes-Benz Stadium Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL ...

, Georgia, in which

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

for their sixth Super Bowl championship and their third title in five years.

Player movement

The 2018 NFL League year and trading period began on March 14. On March 9, clubs were allowed to exercise options for 2018 on players who have option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2017 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "Top-51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap hit below the actual cap). On March 12, clubs were allowed to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the agents of players who were set to become unrestricted free agents.

Free agency

Over 550 players were eligible for some form of free agency during the free agency period. Notable players to change teams include: * Quarterbacks Sam Bradford (Minnesota to Arizona), Kirk Cousins (Washington to Minnesota),

Case Keenum Casey Austin Keenum (born February 17, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Houston Cougars football, Houston, where he became the NCAA's all-time ...

(Minnesota to Denver), and A. J. McCarron (Cincinnati to Buffalo). * Running backs Isaiah Crowell (Cleveland to New York Jets),

Carlos Hyde Carlos Dawon Hyde (born September 20, 1990) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State University and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Hig ...

(San Francisco to Cleveland), Frank Gore (Indianapolis to Miami), Dion Lewis (New England to Tennessee), Jerick McKinnon (Minnesota to San Francisco), and Adrian Peterson (Arizona to Washington) * Wide receivers Danny Amendola (New England to Miami), Allen Hurns (Jacksonville to Dallas), Jordy Nelson (Green Bay to Oakland), Allen Robinson (Jacksonville to Chicago), and

Sammy Watkins Samuel Benjamin Watkins IV (born June 14, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in ...

(Los Angeles Rams to Kansas City) * Tight ends Jimmy Graham (Seattle to Green Bay), Austin Seferian-Jenkins (New York Jets to Jacksonville), and

Marcedes Lewis Marcedes Alexis Lewis (born May 19, 1984) is an American football tight end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA, earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Jac ...

(Jacksonville to Green Bay) * Offensive linemen Cameron Fleming (New England to Dallas), Andrew Norwell (Carolina to Jacksonville), Mike Pouncey (Miami to Los Angeles Chargers), Justin Pugh (New York Giants to Arizona), Weston Richburg (New York Giants to San Francisco), Nate Solder (New England to New York Giants), Josh Sitton (Chicago to Miami), and Travis Swanson (Detroit to New York Jets) * Defensive linemen Adrian Clayborn (Atlanta to New England),

Vinny Curry Vincent Curry (born June 30, 1988) is an American football defensive end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Marshall, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round o ...

(Philadelphia to Tampa Bay), Sheldon Richardson (Seattle to Minnesota),

Ndamukong Suh Ndamukong Ngwa Suh ( , born January 6, 1987) is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska, where he earned All-American honors, and was draf ...

(Miami to Los Angeles Rams),

Star Lotulelei Starlite Lotulelei Jr. ( ; born December 20, 1989) is a Tongan professional American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college foo ...

(Carolina to Buffalo), and

Muhammad Wilkerson Muhammad Hassan "Mo" Wilkerson (born October 22, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Temple Owls, and was selected by the New ...

(New York Jets to Green Bay) * Linebackers

Demario Davis Demario Davis (born January 11, 1989) is an American football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football a ...

(New York Jets to New Orleans), Trent Murphy (Washington to Buffalo), Tahir Whitehead (Detroit to Oakland), and Avery Williamson (Tennessee to New York Jets) * Defensive backs

Malcolm Butler Malcolm Terel Butler (born March 2, 1990) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played his first four seasons with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After leaving New England, he was a member ...

(New England to Tennessee), Morgan Burnett (Green Bay to Pittsburgh),

T. J. Carrie Travis J. Carrie (born July 28, 1990) is an American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio after playing for De La Salle High School where he was an all-state cor ...

(Oakland to Cleveland), Ross Cockrell (New York Giants to Carolina),

E. J. Gaines Edwin "E. J." Gaines Jr. (born February 23, 1992) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. High school career ...

(Buffalo to Cleveland),

Marcus Gilchrist Marcus Tyler Gilchrist (born December 8, 1988) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Clemson. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft and also had stints with the New York ...

(Houston to Oakland), Trumaine Johnson (Los Angeles Rams to New York Jets), Tyrann Mathieu (Arizona to Houston), Rashaan Melvin (Indianapolis to Oakland), Eric Reid (San Francisco To Carolina), Patrick Robinson (Philadelphia to New Orleans), and Richard Sherman (Seattle to San Francisco) * Kicker

Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Florida Sta ...

(Oakland to Seattle) * Punter

Marquette King Marquette King Jr. (born October 26, 1988) is an American football punter for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He played college football at Fort Valley State and was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2012. King led ...

(Oakland to Denver)

Trades

The following notable trades were made during the 2018 league year: * March 14:

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

traded WR Jarvis Landry to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

for a 2018 fourth round selection (123rd overall) and a

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

seventh round selection. * March 14: Buffalo traded QB Tyrod Taylor to

for a 2018 third round selection (65th overall). * March 14: Buffalo traded T

Cordy Glenn Cordy Glenn (born September 18, 1989) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia. Glenn earned a 2010 All-American select ...

, a 2018 first round selection (21st overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (158th overall) to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

for a 2018 first round selection (12th overall) and a 2018 sixth round selection (187th overall). * March 14: Green Bay traded CB Damarious Randall, a 2018 fourth round selection (114th overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (150th overall) to

for QB DeShone Kizer, a 2018 fourth round selection (101st overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (138th overall) * March 14:

traded DT

Danny Shelton Daniel Saileupumoni Shelton (born August 20, 1993) is an American football defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He pl ...

and a 2018 fifth round selection (159th overall) to

for a

third round selection. * March 14:

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

traded QB

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 20 ...

to Washington in exchange for CB Kendall Fuller and a 2018 third round selection (78th overall). * March 14:

traded CB Marcus Peters and a 2018 sixth round draft selection (196th overall) to the

in exchange for a 2018 fourth round selection (124th overall) and a 2019 second round selection. * March 14:

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

traded CB Aqib Talib to the

in exchange for a 2018 fifth round selection (160th overall). * March 14: The

traded LB Alec Ogletree and a 2019 seventh round draft selection to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

in exchange for a 2018 fourth round selection ( 135th overall) and a 2018 sixth round selection ( 176th overall). * March 14: The

traded DE Robert Quinn and a 2018 sixth round selection to

in exchange for a 2018 fourth round selection and a 2018 sixth round selection. * March 14:

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

traded DE Michael Bennett and a 2018 seventh round selection to

for WR Marcus Johnson and a 2018 fifth round selection. * March 14:

traded WR Torrey Smith to

Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...

for CB Daryl Worley. * March 18:

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

traded WR Cordarrelle Patterson and a 2018 sixth round selection (210th overall) to

for a 2018 fifth round selection (159th overall). * March 22: The

traded DE

Jason Pierre-Paul Jason Andrew Pierre-Paul (born January 1, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Florida and was drafted by the New York Giants in t ...

and their 2018 fourth round selection (102nd overall) to

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

in exchange for a 2018 third round selection (69th overall) and a 2018 fourth round selection (108th overall). * March 29: Washington traded S

Su'a Cravens Su'a Kristopher Cravens (born July 7, 1995) is a former American football strong safety. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Cravens played the linebacker pos ...

, a 2018 fourth round selection (113th overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (149th overall) to

in exchange for a 2018 fourth round selection (109th overall), two 2018 fifth round selections (142nd and 163rd overall), and a conditional

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

selection. *April 3:

traded WR Brandin Cooks and a 2018 fourth round selection (136th overall) to the

for a 2018 first round selection (23rd overall) and a 2018 sixth round selection (198th overall). *April 26:

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

traded WR Martavis Bryant to

for a 2018 third round selection (79th overall). *August 29: The New York Jets traded QB Teddy Bridgewater and a 2019 sixth-round selection to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

traded DE/OLB

Khalil Mack Khalil Delshon Mack (; born February 22, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the ...

, a 2020 second round selection, and a conditional 2020 fifth round selection to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in exchange for a 2019 first round selection, a 2020 first round selection, a 2020 third round selection, and a 2019 sixth round selection. *September 17:

traded WR Josh Gordon and a conditional 2019 seventh round selection to

in exchange for a 2019 fifth round selection. *October 19:

traded RB

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. *October 23:

traded WR Amari Cooper to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

in exchange for a 2019 first round selection. *October 30:

traded WR Demaryius Thomas and a 2019 seventh round selection to

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

for a 2019 fourth round selection and a 2019 seventh round selection. *October 30:

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

traded WR

Golden Tate Golden Herman Tate III (born August 2, 1988) is an American baseball player and former football wide receiver who is currently a center fielder for the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League (WCL). He played college football at Notre D ...

for a 2019 third round selection. *October 30:

traded DE Dante Fowler to the

for a 2019 third round selection and a 2020 fifth round selection. *October 30: Green Bay traded S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington for a 2019 fourth round selection and RB Ty Montgomery to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

for a 2020 seventh round selection.

Retirements

Kam Chancellor Kameron Darnel Chancellor (born April 3, 1988), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is an American former football strong safety who played for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech prior to ...

: Four-time Pro Bowler, two-time second-team All-Pro safety, and

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

champion. He played his entire eight-year career with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

. *CB Antonio Cromartie: Four-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro. Cromartie played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, New York Jets,

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...

, and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

during his 11-year career, before spending the entire 2017 season as an unsigned free agent. *DE Elvis Dumervil: Five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. Dumervil played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

during his 12-year career. *DE

Dwight Freeney Dwight Jason Freeney (born February 19, 1980) is an American former football player who played as a defensive end and outside linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse University, w ...

: Seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro (three first-team, one second-team), and

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

champion. Freeney played for the

, Atlanta Falcons,

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

during his 16-year career. *LB James Harrison: Five-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro (two first-team, two second-team), two-time Super Bowl champion ( XL and XLIII), and 2008

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

. Harrison played for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

, and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

during his 15-year career. * KR

Devin Hester Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist ...

: Four-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro (three first-team, one second-team), and three time

NFL Special Teams Player of the Year The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

. Hester played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

, Atlanta Falcons,

, and

during his 11-year career. He spent 2017 out of football before announcing his retirement in early 2018. *G Richie Incognito: Four-time Pro Bowler. Played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

, and St. Louis Rams during his 12-year career. Incognito came out of retirement to sign with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

in . *C Nick Mangold: Seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro (two first-team, one second-team). Played his entire 11-year career with the New York Jets. He had spent the 2017 season out of football after the Jets released him. *CB Darrelle Revis: Seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All-Pro, and

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Co ...

champion. Revis played for the New York Jets,

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

during his 11-year career. *OT Joe Thomas: Ten-time Pro Bowler and nine-time All-Pro (seven first-team, two second-team). Played his entire 11-year career for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. A deteriorating left knee contributed to Thomas's retirement. * TE

Jason Witten Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...

: Eleven-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er, four-time All Pro (two first-team, two second-team), and 2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Witten played 15 seasons, all with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

. He took a job with

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as their ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

'' color commentator. However he came out of retirement for the

2019 NFL season The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which Green Bay defeated Chicago. The season concluded ...

, with the Cowboys.

Other retirements

Draft

The

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first dra ...

was held from April 26 to 28 at

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the hom ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. This was the first draft to take place in an NFL stadium, and the first to be held in Texas. The

selected Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick.

Officiating changes

Offseason

The following officials were hired: * Land Clark (Field Judge) * Matt Edwards (Side Judge) * Chad Hill (Side Judge) * Anthony Jeffries (Field Judge) * Tony Josselyn (Back Judge) * Brian Matoren (Replay Official) * Mark Stewart (Line Judge) * Don Willard (Field Judge) Four referees retired during the 2018 off-season, the most to do so since records on the statistics have been kept. *

Ed Hochuli Edward G. Hochuli ( ; born December 25, 1950) is an American attorney and retired American football official. He has served as an attorney at Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. since 1983, and was an official in the National Football League (NFL ...

: At the time of his retirement, Hochuli was the league's longest-tenured referee, having served with the league for 28 seasons, 26 as a head referee. He was succeeded by his son,

Shawn Hochuli Shawn Hochuli ( ; born June 25, 1978) is a National Football League (NFL) official. He wears jersey #83. He entered the league in the 2014 NFL season and was promoted for 2018 from back judge to referee, following the retirement of his father, lo ...

. * Terry McAulay: McAulay spent 20 seasons as an official, 17 as a head referee, and officiated three Super Bowls. McAulay will work as a rules analyst for NBC's ''

Sunday Night Football Sunday Night Football may refer to: * ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006 * ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN * ...

''.

Shawn Smith Shawn Smith may refer to: *Shirley Patterson (1922 – 1995), a Canadian-born actress also known as Shawn Smith * Shawn Smith (musician) (1965 – 2019), American singer, songwriter, and musician *Shawn Smith (American football), a National Foot ...

, an umpire since , was promoted to replace McAulay. * Gene Steratore: Steratore spent 15 seasons as an official and was the referee of Super Bowl LII. Steratore was involved in the controversial ruling known as the Calvin Johnson rule, as well as the infamous use of an index card during a game between the

and

. He was one of two officials who also covered

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

Division I basketball games. Steratore accepted an offer from CBS to fill its rules analyst position, which had been vacant since 2015. Umpire Clay Martin was promoted to referee to replace Steratore. * Jeff Triplette: Triplette had spent 22 years as an official with the NFL, 19 as a head referee. Alex Kemp replaced Triplette. Other officials retiring: * Jim Howey (Down Judge) * Ed Walker (Down Judge) * Ron Marinucci (Line Judge) * Buddy Horton (Field Judge) * Jon Lucivansky (Field Judge) * Laird Hayes (Side Judge)

In-season

Down judge Hugo Cruz was fired for performance-related issues culminating with a missed false start during a Week 6 game between the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

and

. It was the first time in the Super Bowl era that an official was dismissed in-season.

Rule changes

The following playing rule changes have been approved by the Competition Committee for the 2018 season: * Make permanent the current rule that changes the spot of the ball after a touchback on a kickoff to the 25-yard line. Prior to

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, the ball was placed at the 20-yard line. * Update the standards for a "catch" to have: **Two feet down or any body part other than the hands **Control of the ball **Make a "football move" such as making a 3rd step, reaching/extending to the line to gain, tucking the ball away, warding off defensive players, or have the ability to perform such an act. *:The rule for receivers who were going to the ground during the catch process has been deleted. This is in response to several issues regarding the "going to the ground" rule, especially catches by

WR Dez Bryant in the 2014 NFL playoffs and one by

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained s ...

in 2017 that were overturned due to this rule. * Allow a designated member of the officiating department (for 2018, senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron, vice president officiating evaluation and development Wayne Mackie, and vice president of instant replay and administration Russel Yurk) to instruct game officials to disqualify any player who commits a flagrant non-football act on the field for a foul called on the field. This is in response to a situation where

tight end

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played ...

intentionally inflicted a late hit on

defensive back

Tre'Davious White Tre'Davious White Sr. (born January 16, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, where he was a consensus All-American as a senior in 2016. He was d ...

causing a concussion to White. Gronkowski was not ejected for the foul on the field, but did receive a one-game suspension after the NFL's review of the play. *Illegally batting a ball on a scrimmage down will incur a loss of down in addition to the previous 10-yard penalty. *In overtime, when a team is ahead by 3 points, a down will run to its conclusion and all applicable points will score, even if there is a loss of possession. Previously, the offense of the trailing team could not legally score if they lost and regained possession and reached the opponent's end zone all on the same play. The rule remains that if there is a double change of possession on a play with one team in the lead, it is the last play of the game. *If a team scores a touchdown on the final play of regulation which either gives them the victory or leaves them three or more points behind, no extra-point conversion try will be needed. *A ball carrier may slide either head first or feet first to be considered giving himself up on the play, and he is afforded all protections previously provided to a runner sliding feet first. The following bylaws and resolutions were passed: *Make permanent the liberalization of workout rules for draft prospects. *For a one-year trial period, liberalize the rules for re-signing a player on waivers. *Players on injured reserve can be traded. *Players with injuries deemed major can be placed directly on injured reserve without clearing waivers. *The 10-day postseason waiver claiming period has been reduced to 1 day. *Players can be activated from injured reserve after eight games instead of eight weeks. *Teams have seven business days to complete an injury settlement instead of five. *Players in certain reserve list categories cannot be reinstated after a team's week 13 game. This restriction was previously applied to the last 30 days of the regular season. *Clarify roster procedures for players with military obligations. *For a one-year trial period, teams may contact a player who has been publicly announced to be released before the NFL lists the transaction on a Player Personnel Notice. The following changes to the kickoff rules were approved at the NFL Spring Owners' Meeting on May 23, 2018: * Players are required to line up for the kickoff as follows: **Five players on the kicking team must be on either side of the kicker **At least two players on each side must be lined up outside of the numbers and at least two additional players on each side must be lined up between the numbers and the hashmarks **Players on the kicking team (excluding the kicker) may only line up within 1 yard of the kickoff spot (the previous limit was 5 yards) **The receiving team must have eight players in a 15-yard "set-up zone" (measured from the receiving team's side of the restraining line 10 yards from the kickoff spot) * No wedge blocks. Players would only be able to do a double-team block within the "set-up zone". * Blocking is prohibited inside the restraining zone (10 yards from the kickoff spot) until the ball touches the ground or is touched in the field of play. * Once a kickoff lands in the end zone, it would become an automatic touchback. Players will no longer have to "kneel" in the end zone to stop the play. * Any player(s) being disqualified are subject to replay review. * It is now a foul (15 yards) for players to lower their helmet to initiate and make contact with an opposing player. The fouling player risks disqualification if: **Player lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture prior to initiating or making contact with the helmet **Player delivering the blow had an unobstructed path to his opponent **Contact was clearly avoidable (player delivering the blow had other options) The chain crew was reduced by one member; the "X" marker, usually unseen on television but used to mark the start of an offensive drive, was eliminated. In response to the recent National Anthem protests in the league the past two seasons, any player or staff member who is on the field during the performance of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

" must stand for the duration of the performance. Such players and staff members are not required to be on the field at that time and may wait in the locker room as an alternative. The NFL will not directly fine offending players or staff members for defying the rule, instead fining the teams, who will in turn have power to fine the players or staff members at their own discretion. The

National Football League Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director D ...

filed a grievance with the league over the policy on July 11.

2018 deaths

The following people associated with the NFL (or AFL) died in 2018.

Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

; Tommy McDonald: A 1998 inductee of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...

, McDonald played 12 seasons in the NFL, the majority of them with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, where he had the majority of his success. The six-time

er and four-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

(first or second team) led the league in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 1961 and was the last non- kicking position player to play without a facemask. He died September 24 at the age of 84. ; Jim Taylor: The nine-year veteran of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

was the first member of the team's 1961–1968 dynasty to be inducted into the Hall as a 1976 inductee. The fullback, who played from 1958 through the first World Championship, appeared in five Pro Bowls, was named first or second team All-Pro six times, and led the league in both rushing touchdowns and yards in 1962, leading the latter category in 1961 as well. He finished his career on the inaugural roster of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He died October 13, aged 83.

Team owners

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

: Allen owned the

from 1996 until his death on October 15, at the age of 65. Allen left no wife or children, and his estate is believed to be in control of his sister,

Jody Allen Jo Lynn "Jody" Allen (born February 3, 1959) is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is the sister of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and served as the chief executive officer of his investment and project manageme ...

. Allen was also the owner of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, and part owner of MLS's

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. *

Tom Benson Thomas Milton Benson (July 12, 1927 – March 15, 2018) was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football Leagu ...

: Benson owned the

from 1985 until his death on March 15, at the age of 90. His wife

Gayle Benson Gayle Marie LaJaunie Bird Benson (born January 26, 1947) is an American billionaire, businesswoman and sports franchise owner. Following the death of her husband, Tom Benson, she became principal owner of the New Orleans Saints of the Natio ...

inherited the team. * Bob McNair: McNair died November 23 at the age of 81. He had owned the Houston Texans from the time of its establishment in 2002 until his death. His wife

Janice McNair Janice Suber McNair (born September 30, 1936) is the co-founder and current owner of the Houston Texans, a position which she assumed after the death of her husband Bob McNair in 2018. Early life Janice McNair was born on September 30, 1936 a ...

and his son

Cal McNair Daniel Calhoun "Cal" McNair (born October 24, 1961) is an American businessman and sports executive. He currently serves as chairman and chief executive officer for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Early life and educat ...

took over as owners, and the government of

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

' minority stake in the team precludes any incoming owner from relocating the team. *

Alex Spanos Alexander Gus Spanos (September 28, 1923 – October 9, 2018) was an American billionaire real estate developer, founder of the A. G. Spanos Companies, and the majority owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football Lea ...

: Spanos owned the

Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

from 1984 until his death; he had had senile dementia since 2008 and was not directly involved in the team's relocation from San Diego back to Los Angeles, which was largely orchestrated by his son

Dean Spanos Dean Alexander Spanos (born May 26, 1950) is the chairman and owner of the National Football League (NFL)'s San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers franchise. He is the son of Alex Spanos, who purchased majority interest in the team in 1984. Spanos too ...

, who will head the family consortium that inherits the team. Spanos died October 9, aged 95.

Others

* Grady Alderman * Willie Brown *

Billy Cannon William Abb Cannon (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an American football halfback, fullback and tight end who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He attended Louisiana State Uni ...

* Dwight Clark * Lindon Crow * Bennie Cunningham *

Keith Fahnhorst Keith Victor Fahnhorst (February 6, 1952 – June 12, 2018) was a National Football League offensive lineman from 1974 through 1987. Fahnhorst, a 273-pound, 6-foot-6-inch lineman from the University of Minnesota, led the San Francisco 49ers in s ...

* Bill Fralic * Jim Garrett *

Chris Gedney Christopher Joseph Gedney (August 9, 1970 – March 9, 2018) was an American college and professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for Syracuse Universit ...

* Tom Heckert Jr. * Wes Hopkins * Wayne Huizenga * David Humm * Edwin Jackson * Ron Johnson *

Billy Kinard Billy Russell Kinard (December 16, 1933 – June 30, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a defensive back for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Buf ...

Chuck Knox Charles Robert Knox (April 27, 1932 – May 12, 2018) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach of three National Football League (NFL) teams, the Los Angeles Rams ( 1973–19 ...

* Vince Manuwai * Dick Modzelewski * Jeremy Nunley * Jack Patera * Gabriel Rivera *

Isiah Robertson Isiah "Butch" Robertson (August 17, 1949 – December 6, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams (1971–1978) and the Buffalo Bills (1979–1982). He was selected to six Pro Bowls durin ...

* Tim Rossovich * Kona Schwenke * Ed Schultz * Clyde Scott * Tony Sparano * George Taliaferro *

Frank Varrichione Frank Joseph Varrichione (pronounced "Vair-akee-oh'-nee;" January 14, 1932 – January 6, 2018) was an American athlete. Varrichione was best remembered for being part of the 1953 University of Notre Dame football team that shared the collegiate ...

* Manch Wheeler * Leon "Big Van Vader" White

Preseason

Training camps A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

for the 2018 season were held in late July through August. Teams started training camp no earlier than 15 days before the team's first scheduled preseason game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which the

defeated the

17–16, was played on August 2; and was televised nationally by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

. The Ravens, who made their first Hall of Fame Game appearance, were represented in the 2018 Hall of Fame class by former linebacker

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played col ...

, while the Bears were represented by former linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Regular season

The 2018

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability ...

's 256 games were played over a 17-week schedule that began on September 6. Each of the league's 32 teams played a 16-game schedule, with one bye week for each team. The regular season concluded with a full slate of 16 games on December 30, all of which were intra-division matchups, as it had been since .

Scheduling formula

Under the NFL's current scheduling formula, each team plays the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition, a team plays against all four teams in one other division from each conference. The final two games on a team's schedule are against the two remaining teams in the same conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division will play all three other teams in the conference that also finished fourth). The division pairings for 2018 were as follows: The entire season schedule was released on April 19. Highlights of the 2018 season included: * NFL Kickoff Game: The season began with the Kickoff Game on September 6, with

at defending Super Bowl LII champion

; Philadelphia won, 18–12. *

NFL International Series The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) regular season that are played outside the United States. Since 2017, the series has two sub-series: the NFL London Games in the Uni ...

: ** NFL London Games: Three games were played in London in 2018. All games were played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. The first game featured

, on October 14; this game was originally scheduled to be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but was relocated to Wembley when it was determined that the construction at Tottenham would not be finished in time. The two games originally slated to take place at Wembley were

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

at the

on October 21 and

on October 28. This was the first time the London games were played on three consecutive weeks, a move the league has taken to try to streamline their London operations. Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia won these games. ** NFL Mexico Game: One game,

at the

on November 19, was scheduled to take place at

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. With ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

. However, due to poor field conditions resulting from recent concerts and soccer games at the facility, as well as a "difficult rainy season," the NFL announced on November 13 that the game would be moved back to the Rams' home stadium, the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was ...

. Although attempts were made to re-sod the field, it failed an inspection by NFL officials. The Rams would beat the Chiefs 54–51, marking the highest-scoring game in ''

'' history. *

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

: As has been the case since , three games were played on November 22:

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and Washington at Dallas in the traditional afternoon doubleheader, and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

game:

, December 24, fell on a Monday in 2018. As was the case in 2007, a ''Monday Night Football'' game was scheduled between two western teams, the

, with Oakland winning. This marked the teams' record 18th matchup on ''MNF''.

Scheduling changes

When the entire season schedule was released on April 19, the league announced flexible scheduling for Saturday games in weeks 15 and 16. The final times of these games were announced on October 24: * Week 7: The

–

game was flexed from 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS to the 8:20 p.m. EDT slot on

, replacing the originally-scheduled

–

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

game, which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. This is the earliest NBC flex game since it took over the Sunday Night package in 2006. * Week 10: The

– Green Bay game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. Additionally, the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

–Kansas City game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

, was cross-flexed to CBS, in the same time slot. * Week 11: The

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

–

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

game was flexed from 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, replacing the originally scheduled

–

game which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS. Additionally, the

–

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

* Week 12: The Miami– Indianapolis game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. * Week 13: The

–Pittsburgh game originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS was flexed to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, replacing the originally scheduled San Francisco–

game which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox. * Week 14: The Los Angeles Rams–Chicago game originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox was flexed to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, replacing the originally scheduled Pittsburgh–

game which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox. * Week 15: The

– New York Jets started at 4:30 p.m., while the

–

game started at 8:20 p.m. EST, both games broadcast by

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

. And the Washington–Jacksonville game originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox was cross-flexed to CBS, in the same time slot. *Week 16: two games were moved to Saturday, December 22 on NFL Network: The Washington–

game started at 4:30 p.m. EST, while the

–

game started at 8:20 p.m. EST. This marked the first time that games were rescheduled to a different day (excluding games rescheduled due to severe weather) and The

–Indianapolis game originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox was cross-flexed to CBS, in the same time slot. * Week 17: The Indianapolis–

game originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was selected as the final 8:20 p.m. ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' game of the season, which decided the final AFC wild card spot. Also, the Cincinnati–Pittsburgh,

–

, Oakland–Kansas City, Philadelphia–Washington, and Chicago–Minnesota games were moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET. with no change in network assignment.

Regular season standings

Division

Conference

Postseason

The 2018 playoffs began on the weekend of January 5–6, 2019, with the Wild Card Playoff round. The four winners of those playoff games visited the top two seeds in each conference in the Divisional round games the weekend of January 12–13. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference Championship games on January 20. (In the event that both Los Angeles teams had advanced to their respective conference championships with both teams as the home team, one of the two games would have been postponed to the evening of January 21.) The

2019 Pro Bowl The 2019 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2018 NFL season, played on January 27, 2019, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It was televised nationally by ESPN and its sister networks. Game format The 201 ...

was held at

Camping World Stadium Camping World Stadium is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, ...

in Orlando, Florida on January 27.

was held on February 3 at

Bracket

Records, milestones, and notable statistics

Week 1 * Adrian Peterson became the ninth player to rush for 100 touchdowns in a career. Week 2 * Frank Gore passed Curtis Martin to move up to fourth on the all-time rushing yards list with 14,103 career rushing yards. * Patrick Mahomes became the youngest quarterback to throw six touchdown passes in a game, at age 22 years and 364 days. Week 3 *

Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. During his career, Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine different teams, the most ...

became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 400 yards in three consecutive games. *The

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

tied the record for fewest rushing attempts in a game with six. The record was previously set by the 1933 Chicago Cardinals and tied by the

2004 New England Patriots The 2004 season was the New England Patriots' 35th in the National Football League (NFL), their 45th overall and their fifth under head coach Bill Belichick. They finished with their second consecutive 14–2 record before advancing to and wi ...

and

2006 Arizona Cardinals The 2006 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 87th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 19th in Arizona. The season began with the team trying to improve on their 5–11 record in 2005. They also moved into the Cardinals Stadium in Glen ...

. Week 4 *

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest kic ...

kicked his 566th career field goal, breaking the record for most field goals in a career previously held by Morten Andersen. Week 5 *

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with whic ...

threw his 500th career touchdown pass, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to do so (joining

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

and

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Col ...

) and becoming the first to do so playing on one team. *Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass to a 71st different receiver, breaking an NFL record previously held by

Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the ...

. *

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

became the NFL's all-time leading passer with 71,941 passing yards, surpassing Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in the process. Week 6 *

became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 200 regular season wins. Week 7 *

became the third quarterback in NFL history to defeat all 32 teams, joining

and

. He also became the fourth quarterback to throw 500 career touchdown passes, joining Favre, Manning, and

. Week 8 *

set the record for career points scored, with 2,550, breaking a record previously held by Morten Andersen. * Adam Thielen tied Calvin Johnson's record for eight consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Week 10 * Julio Jones became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 receiving yards, doing so in 104 games. Jones broke the record previously held by Calvin Johnson, who took 115 games. * Larry Fitzgerald passed Terrell Owens to move to second on the all-time receiving yards list with 15,952 career receiving yards. Week 11 *The

scored 51 points in a 54–51 loss to the

, the most points ever scored by a losing team in NFL history. The 105-point aggregate total is also the third highest in NFL history. *The

41-point loss to the

is the largest margin of defeat by a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history since the inception of the game in 1966. Week 12 *The Houston Texans won their eighth straight game following an 0–3 start, becoming the first team in NFL history to do so. *

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was s ...

completed 25 consecutive passes to start a game, breaking the record of 22 consecutive completions to start a game previously held by Mark Brunell. This streak also tied

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, where he was a wide receiver until his junior year, ...

's record of 25 consecutive passes at any point in a game. *Philip Rivers completed 28 out of 29 passes (96.6%), breaking the record for highest completion percentage in a game (minimum 20 attempts). The previous record was held by

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend ...

who completed 92.3% of his passes. Week 14 * Derrick Henry became the second player in NFL history to record a 99-yard rushing touchdown, joining Hall of Famer

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. From Western Pennsylvania, Dorsett attended the ...

who achieved this in 1982. Week 15 *

became the fourth quarterback to reach 70,000 career passing yards. Week 16 *The

won at least ten games for the 16th straight season, tying a record set by the 1983–98

. *The Patriots clinched the

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buf ...

for the tenth consecutive season (extending an NFL record for most consecutive years winning any division) and their tenth straight playoff berth, breaking the record of nine straight playoff berths previously held by the

(1975–83) and

(2002–10). * Zach Ertz set a new NFL record for the most catches in a single season by a tight end with 113, breaking a record previously held by

. * Chris Jones recorded a sack in his 11th consecutive game this season, marking a new NFL record. Week 17 * George Kittle had 1,377 receiving yards on the season, breaking the record for most receiving yards by a tight end previously held by Travis Kelce. * Baker Mayfield threw his 27th touchdown pass of the season breaking the record for most touchdown passes by a rookie quarterback, previously shared by

and

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

. *

Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draf ...

completed 25 consecutive passes, tying a record held by

and

. Divisional round * James White tied the all-time single-game playoff receptions record with 15. This record was previously set by

Darren Sproles Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983) is an American football executive and former running back and return specialist who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

. * Julian Edelman caught his 94th post-season reception, moving him past

Reggie Wayne Reginald Wayne (born November 17, 1978) is a former American football wide receiver who played 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami, and was drafted ...

for second place all-time, behind only

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...

. Super Bowl *The Patriots defeated the

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Super Bowl, This record was previously held by

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

, in which the Dolphins defeated the Redskins, 14–7 (21 points). *

became the first player to win six Super Bowls, surpassing

Charles Haley Charles Lewis Haley (born January 6, 1964) is a former American football outside linebacker and defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers (1986–1991, 1999) and the Dallas Cowboys (1992–1996). ...

's record of five.

Regular season statistical leaders

Awards

Individual season awards

The 8th Annual NFL Honors, saluting the best players and plays from 2018 season, was held on February 2, 2019, at the Fox Theatre in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

All-Pro team

The following players were named First Team All-Pro by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

Players of the week/month

The following were named the top performers during the 2018 season:

Head coaching and front office personnel changes

Head coaches

Off-season

In-season

Front office personnel

Off-season

In-season

Stadiums

Two teams, the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and

, entered the final year of their lease agreements with their current stadium.

Carolina Panthers

On December 17, 2017, Jerry Richardson, the Panthers' founding owner, announced he was putting the team up for sale. Richardson had previously indicated the team would be put up for sale after his death, but Richardson was accused of paying hush money to cover up questionable conduct, including racial slurs and sexually suggestive requests of employees, hastening Richardson's decision. The Panthers' lease on

Bank of America Stadium Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat football stadium located on in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and Charlotte FC of Majo ...

expires after the 2018 season, which would allow any incoming owner to relocate the team out of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, to another market if they so desired, only being liable for the remaining debt from stadium renovation. At an estimated $35 million, the debt payment would be a small expense compared to the relocation fee the NFL charged for the two teams that relocated in 2016 and 2017. The two most likely candidates to buy the team were David Tepper, a hedge fund manager with a higher net worth and a minority stake in the

but fewer ties to Charlotte; and

Ben Navarro Benjamin W. Navarro (born 1962/1963) is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sherman Financial Group, LLC, which owns Credit One Bank. Early life He is one of eight children of Frank Navarro, a coll ...

, a financial services CEO based in Charlotte who had the backing of Richardson's only living son. Tepper was announced as the new owner on May 16, with the announcement coming in time for the league to vote on his bid at the owners meeting on May 19. The sale closed on July 9 with Richardson-era chief operating officer Tina Becker (who ran the franchise after Richardson stepped away from operations) resigning. Tepper immediately stated the franchise would retain the Carolina Panthers name for the time being, but that a new stadium would likely be necessary; he stated that he hoped to build said stadium in Charlotte but would not guarantee the team remains there, claiming he did not know enough about the situation to guarantee the team stays in the Charlotte area.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders, prior to the 2017 season, committed to relocating to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, once a new

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

was constructed for them in 2020. In 2016, the Raiders signed a three-year extension with the Oakland Coliseum. In order to secure another season in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, Coliseum management indicated in September 2017 that the Raiders would need to offer major concessions to compensate for the financial losses the Coliseum incurs by hosting Raiders games.

Naming rights agreements

Arizona Cardinals

On September 4, University of Phoenix Stadium, the home field of the

, was renamed State Farm Stadium. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

agreement is for 18 years; however, the cost of the deal was not disclosed.

Denver Broncos

On June 20, the

' home stadium was renamed Broncos Stadium at Mile High. The sporting goods chain Sports Authority had held naming rights to the stadium's field (as "Sports Authority Field at Mile High") but had gone out of business in 2016. The previous signage referring to Sports Authority was removed in March. Just prior to the 2019 season, the naming rights were sold to Empower Retirement, ultimately renaming the stadium to "

Empower Field at Mile High Empower Field at Mile High (previously known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Invesco Field at Mile High and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, New Mile High or Mile High Stadium) is an American football stadium ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 16, EverBank Field, the home field of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, was renamed

TIAA Bank Field TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...

, after

TIAA The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA, formerly TIAA-CREF), is a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, ...

's 2017 acquisition of

EverBank EverBank, now TIAA Bank, is an American diversified financial services company providing banking, mortgages, and investment, investing services. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It operates through standard banking offices and through i ...

. The naming rights agreement was for 10 years and $43 million.

Uniforms

Color Rush discontinuation

The

Color Rush The NFL Color Rush was a promotion done in conjunction with the National Football League (NFL) and Nike that promotes so-called "color vs. color" matchups with teams in matchup-specific uniforms that are primarily one solid color with alternatin ...

program was discontinued, and teams were no longer required to wear the special uniforms for ''Thursday Night Football''. Teams had the option to continue using the existing Nike designs for the program as standard

third jersey A third jersey, alternative jersey, third kit, third sweater or alternative uniform is a jersey or uniform that a sports team can wear instead of its home outfit or its away outfit during games, often when the colors of two competing teams' o ...

Uniform changes

: The Bears brought back their orange alternate jerseys that the team wore from 2005 to 2009 and 2011. The team announced that the orange uniforms will be worn twice in 2018, and the team will use the navy blue "

Monsters of the Midway The Monsters of the Midway is most widely known as the nickname for the National Football League's Chicago Bears—particularly the dominant teams of 1940 and 1941. The name was revived when the 1985 Chicago Bears proved to be similarly dominant, ...

" throwbacks for one game. *

: On April 19, the Jaguars simplified their uniforms in a similar look they had used before 2013. Gold was also eliminated from their previous jerseys and the gradient black and gold helmet was reverted to an all-black gloss shell. *

: On July 27, the Rams announced that due to overwhelming fan demand the NFL relaxed their alternate uniform policy and has permitted them to use their royal blue and yellow throwbacks as their color jerseys for the next two seasons until they present entirely new ones in 2020. When using their white jerseys, the team will still have to use their current set carried over from St. Louis albeit from slight modifications they made to them in 2017. *

: On April 19, the Dolphins simplified their uniform outlines to take after their classic aqua-and-orange look. Dark blue was removed from everything but the logo. For the second straight year, the Dolphins will wear their official throwback jerseys twice in 2018. *

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

: On April 4, the Titans introduced new uniforms. Most prominent among the changes is the helmet, which is changing from the white color the team had used since the 1970s (as the Houston Oilers) to navy blue. The color patterns are also simplified, with a new number typeface inspired both by Greek lettering and the shape of the state of Tennessee.

Throwback uniforms

: On May 30, the Steelers unveiled a throwback uniform, that was worn in the late 1970s. Team owner Art Rooney II announced that the team will wear the uniforms for one game. *

: On May 23, 49ers unveiled a new all-white throwback uniform, that was worn in 1994, the year the team won its most recent Super Bowl. The team announced that they will be worn for one game.

Patches

: On April 9, the Packers unveiled a patch to commemorate their 100th season. *

: On April 10, the Colts unveiled a patch to commemorate their 35th season in Indianapolis. *

: The Chargers added a patch to commemorate the death of team owner

(and his wife Faye, who died in August) before Week 9's game against the Seahawks. *

: On August 9, the Saints unveiled a patch to commemorate the death of team owner

, featuring Benson in silhouette holding his second line umbrella above his initials. *

: On October 26, the Seahawks unveiled a patch to commemorate the death of team owner

, featuring his "PGA" initials below the team's 12th Man flag.

Media

Broadcast rights

Television

This was the fifth year under the current broadcast contracts with

/ ABC, CBS,

, and

. This included "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season (regardless of the conference of the visiting team). NBC continued to air ''

'', the annual Kickoff game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game. ESPN continued to air ''

'' and the

, with the latter being simulcast on ABC. CBS broadcast

. On January 31, the NFL announced that Fox had acquired the broadcast television rights to the ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...

'' package under a five-year deal (aligned with the remainder of the NFL's current broadcast contracts). Fox aired 11 games, in simulcast with

, with the remaining games in the package airing exclusively on NFL Network to satisfy its carriage contracts (with local broadcasts

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

broadcast stations in the markets of the teams in each game). CBS and NBC had made bids to renew their previous contracts (CBS had held the rights since 2014, joined by NBC since 2016), but were reluctant to pay a higher rights fee due to the league's ratings downturn.

Digital

The NFL agreed to an extension of its digital rights agreement with

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

under a 5-year, $2.5 billion deal. Unlike the previous deal, it no longer includes exclusivity for streaming in-market and nationally televised NFL games on mobile devices with screens or less in size (such as

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s), in order to account for changes in viewing habits, but still includes enhanced access to highlights and other digital content for Verizon-owned properties. In addition, Verizon announced that it would no longer make these streams exclusive to

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...

subscribers, and would leverage its portfolio of media brands (such as

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

, which it acquired in 2017) to distribute them to a larger audience. All of the NFL's current television partners have added mobile streaming rights (which were previously reserved to Verizon) to their existing contracts for the 2018 season, with telecasts becoming available via

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

, the Fox Sports App, the ESPN app, and the NBC Sports app. Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon must give the majority of the advertising revenue to the broadcast partners. On April 26, 2018, the NFL announced that it had reached a two-year extension of its agreement with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

for shared digital rights to the ''Thursday Night Football'' games simulcast with Fox, with a 15% increase in rights fees. To fulfill a request that the streams be available freely, the games will also be made available on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

, an Amazon-owned streaming service that was originally designed for video game streaming.

Radio

Both of the NFL's national radio contracts,

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

for English language and Entravision for Spanish language, expired after the 2017 season. Westwood One's parent company

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

filed for bankruptcy in November 2017 and began terminating national broadcast contracts and sports agreements in January 2018, putting any contract extensions on hold. The company emerged from bankruptcy on June 4, 2018. With the release of the 2018 schedule, NFL.com listed

ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Amer ...

(which had shared NFL rights with Entravision in 2017 and had carried Super Bowl LII) as the league's national Spanish-language broadcaster. The national English-language broadcaster was still identified as Westwood One, which Westwood One has also confirmed; no press release has been issued in regard to a contract extension with that network, and it is unknown when the current arrangement was signed or when it will end. Additionally, Westwood One removed Sunday afternoon games from their package, instead focusing on the primetime matchups as well as the postseason. SportsUSA,

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

and

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN" ...

, which also has broadcast select Sunday afternoon NFL games, will continue to do so. Meanwhile, Entravision extended the Sunday night rights for 3 years, through 2021, and gained two Super Bowls, the entire AFC Playoff package, the Thursday Night Opener, and a Thanksgiving Day game as part of their new deal. Only one game into the pre-season,

announcer

Bob Lamey Bob Lamey (born December 23, 1938) is an American sportscaster, formerly the radio play-by-play announcer for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Lamey had been "The Voice of the Colts" since the team moved to Indianapolis in 1 ...

, who had been with the team for most of the time since their 1984 relocation from Baltimore, retired suddenly after a complaint of him using a racial slur in the 1980s was revealed. Sideline reporter Matt Taylor was named his ''de facto'' replacement for the season. Greg Papa, after 21 years calling play-by-play for the

, joined the

as their play-by-play announcer; Papa cited an ongoing feud with Raiders owner Mark Davis for his departure. Replacing Papa with the Raiders is

Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...

, who came out of retirement from sports announcing to sign a three-year deal with the team that will see him serve as broadcaster through the team's relocation to Las Vegas (Musburger maintains a side business, the Vegas Sports Information Network, in Las Vegas).

Personnel changes

All four broadcast partners will employ rules analysts for the 2018 season, citing changes in the league's rules that have become too complicated for its broadcast teams to handle. NBC hired Terry McAulay to be their rules analyst for

. CBS hired Gene Steratore to fill their rules analyst position, a position that had been vacant since CBS released Mike Carey in 2015. ESPN hired Jeff Triplette for

. Fox retained both Mike Pereira and

Dean Blandino Dean Blandino (born September 13, 1971) is a rules analyst for Fox Sports. He previously served as the NFL's Vice President of Officiating from 2013 to 2017 and the head of officiating for the XFL in 2020. Biography Early years Blandino grew ...

. Additionally, Pereira assists with Fox's Thursday Night Football Coverage. ESPN introduced a fully new broadcast team for ''Monday Night Football''. Joe Tessitore replaced Sean McDonough as lead play-by-play man; McDonough will remain with ESPN as a college football announcer. With previous color analyst

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is a former American professional football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during thei ...

returning to coaching, ''Monday Night Football'' hired

and Booger McFarland as their color commentators; while McFarland offers his commentary from the sidelines, he fills a role similar to the "non-football" player position that ''Monday Night Football'' has traditionally relied upon in its past three-person booths (such as

Howard Cosell Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a strin ...

and

Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Washington Post'' from ...

). Lisa Salters, the sideline reporter, carries over from the previous broadcast team. Jeff Triplette will replace Gerald Austin as rules analyst. Fox initially had planned to hire a new broadcast team for its ''Thursday Night Football'', making an overture to

to serve as color commentator. Since Manning declined the offer, the network announced that it will be placing its existing lead broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the package, reducing the number of games the duo will call on Sundays (Buck and Aikman will only call the nationally televised "America's Game of the Week" telecasts on Sundays). A version of ''Fox NFL Sunday'' will serve as the lead-in to ''Thursday Night Football'', without Curt Menefee or Jimmy Johnson (American football coach), Jimmy Johnson; the show will instead be hosted by panelist Michael Strahan from New York City, displacing Rich Eisen, the studio host for Thursday night pregame since the package's inception in 2006. Strahan will be joined by fellow Fox colleagues Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long. In previous seasons, Buck did not call any NFL games during late October, working Major League Baseball playoff games instead. For 2018, Fox coordinated its schedule with MLB so that none of its scheduled broadcasts would land on a Thursday (Fox carries the National League Championship Series, NLCS and the World Series), so Buck will continue to broadcast both sports, crisscrossing the country in seven cities over a 22-day period. In addition, NBC introduced a new studio team for ''Football Night in America''. Mike Tirico, who was the on-site host and secondary play-by-play announcer in 2017, became the show's studio host from Stamford, Connecticut, while Liam McHugh moved into Tirico's former role. Dan Patrick (sportscaster), Dan Patrick, who had been the studio host for ''FNiA'' since 2008, declined to sign a long-term contract and left NBC. On radio,

replaced Boomer Esiason as the color commentator for Westwood One's ''Monday Night Football'' broadcasts, after Esiason had filled the role for the previous 18 years. Esiason will continue as a studio host for CBS. In a surprise announcement made two days before its first game, Amazon announced it would provide its own broadcast team for its eleven games, with Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer serving as the lead broadcast team. The announcement makes Kremer the first-ever female color analyst for an NFL game, the first time a game has been broadcast with no men involved in the broadcast team, and the first time since the 1987 season of ''ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESPN Sunday Night NFL'' that no former coach or player served on the broadcast team in any capacity. Amazon will offer the standard Fox broadcast team, a British broadcasting team, and a Spanish language feed as alternate audio choices.

Primetime game time shifts

The kick-off times for all three primetime series were moved up to start 5 to 15 minutes earlier to facilitate local newscasts and ''SportsCenter'' to start earlier and cause less disruption to late night television schedules in the Eastern and Central time zones. Thursday and Sunday Night games now kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET, while Monday Night games now kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Most watched regular season games

After two years of decline, television viewership for the NFL slightly rebounded in 2018, with ratings up 3% as a whole through the first ten weeks of the season, despite a major decline (16%) in other programming on the same networks. The season finished with ratings up 5% compared to 2017. *DH = doubleheader; SNF = NBC Sunday Night Football *Note – Late DH matchups listed in table are the matchups that were shown to the largest percentage of the market.

References

{{NFL seasons 2018 National Football League season, National Football League seasons 2018 in American football, NFL