Rod Wood: NFL schedule expected to be released Thursday

Amidst the excitement of the uniform drop, Detroit Lions president Rod Wood also spent some time answering questions from the media during the season ticket holder summit at Ford Field. It was there that Wood let loose a bit of news that’s relevant for the entire league: the date of the 2017 NFL schedule release:

This isn’t exactly much of a surprise. Last year, the schedule was released on a Thursday at just around the exact same time (April 14 last year; April 20 this year).

We already know a lot about the Lions schedule. We know already know their preseason schedule. We already know every one of Lions’ 2017 opponents and whether the game will be home or away. But there are still several questions left unanswered.

One of the bigger questions will be whether the NFL accepted Rod Wood’s request to have a higher percentage of games to open the season at home. During the owner’s meetings last month, Wood told the media that he wanted the Lions to have more games at Ford Field toward the beginning of the season, because they hadn’t hosted three out of their first four games in a season since 1990. On the other hand, the Lions have went on the road three out of the first four weeks four times in the past 10 years.

Other interesting questions about the Lions upcoming schedule include: How many primetime games will the Lions have? Is the NFL going to give Detroit a true Thursday night game, where they could display their new Color Rush jerseys? When will the Lions play their crucial outdoor away games against the Bears and Packers? In the comfort of September or during the brutal weather conditions of December or sometime in between?

We’ll have the answer to those questions in less than a week.