NFL TAPS NEW YORK JETS TO BE FEATURED ON HARD KNOCKS THIS YEAR
The NFL has picked the New York Jets to appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2023, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
The New York Jets will serve as this year’s team on the hit TV show, and fans will get a front row seat to the team’s new star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and arguably the most talented young roster in the league. The Jets depth chart boasts last year’s defensive and offensive rookies of the year, Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, alongside a myriad of young stars including second-year running back, Breece Hall.
The Jets report to training camp on Wednesday, July 19th, the first full squad to do so and cameras are expected to begin rolling immediately. All 32 teams are expected to have reported for camp by July 26th.
The NFL and NFL Films have never gone this far into an offseason without announcing the team that will feature on Hard Knocks since the show premiered in 2010. The league announced the Detroit Lions as last year’s feature team on the show as early as March 28th. The latest the league took to announce the feature team was in 2021 when the Dallas Cowboys were chosen on July 2nd.
The New York Jets are now only the fourth team ever to have been featured on the show more than once, alongside the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, and Los Angeles Rams. The Jets made their first ever appearance on Hard Knocks in 2010, in one of the most memorable seasons in the franchise’s history. New York finished 11-5 for the year and made it to the AFC Championship game for the fourth time in the club’s history.
Gang Green was selected to be this year’s feature, despite head coach Robert Saleh’s indication last month that he didn’t want his team to be involved. “I haven’t gotten word or anything like that,” said Saleh on June 9th. “I know there are several teams that would love for Hard Knocks to be in their building. We’re just not one of them.”
The NFL can force any team to appear on Hard Knocks if they fail to meet certain criteria. A team can decline an appearance if; they have a first year coach, they’ve had a playoff berth in the past two seasons, or they’ve appeared on Hard Knocks in the past 10 years. Of the 32 teams, only the New York Jets, Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears did not meet the above criteria and could have been required to participate in the show.
Based on previous seasons, the first episode of Hard Knocks is expected to air on HBO on Tuesday, Aug 8th, 2023 with the new series featuring five episodes as per usual. The league has yet to announce who will participate in the in-season version of Hard Knocks this year, a role assumed by the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. The in-season version, introduced by the league in 2020, tends to feature eight or nine episodes with its premiere episode releasing in November.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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