NFL Weekly Roundup: 2021 Schedule Release

Wednesday saw the NFL celebrate it's latest universally agreed upon non-event/television-extravaganza, the 2021 Schedule Release.

What used to be a fax to each teams headquarters is now a prime-time, socially distanced, three hour discussion panel palm reading session. With teams locked in for their first 17 game schedule, we already know; the Packers will be 14 - 3 or 3 -14 depending on Aaron Rodgers geographical circumstances, Houston is drafting Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler with the first over-all pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and the Dallas Cowboys are going to start the season slow before picking up steam and finishing the with a slew of victories before a Week 18 loss to the Eagles that knocks them out of the playoffs.

It's evident the NFL is looking to cash in on every opportunity it can in an off season, but it's only a matter of time before Undrafted Free Agent Signing Night is a fully televised, staged event with hat and jersey unveilings of all the talents not squeaking into the top two hundred and sixty-something on draft night. Thinking of all the human interest pieces on day three of the NFL draft, this may be a reality sooner then later -- and arguably of more importance than a three hour schedule release crystal ball predict-a-thon.

Here's what else happened in the week gone by as accountants at 345 Park Avenue were writing up television rating bonus cheques:

Tim Tebow Will Be In Our Lives For The Foreseeable Future

Ah, Timmy Boy. Long gone are the days of watching you wind up before air-mailing a slant in an NFL preseason tilt. Having not played a regular season game in nine years, Tim Tebow is back in our lives as a tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A connection with head coach, Urban Meyer, playing the key roll in the signing, Tebow isn't stepping into a position room bustling with big names or proven veterans. This is what makes this story or the more tedious -- Tebow is going to be a constant story line from now until he's either cut, makes the Week One roster or starts on opening afternoon.

Whatever the end result, Jacksonville Jaguars social media is going to be blasting whatever Tebow has to say, and it is up to us, as human beings, to ignore that and focus on what really matters: Tom Brady being frustrated linebackers can don numbers he isn't accustomed to.

The Aaron Rodgers Saga Continues

The news of Aaron Rodgers possibly leaving the Green Bay Packers looms over the NFL as the story of the off-season for good reason, but now in week three and with new information drying up, we are in a dangerous holding pattern for updates on the issue.

After the news exploded into orbit on draft night, every former teammate and rival chimed in on what Rodgers is going to do next. Some think he'll leave, some think he'll stay. Some think it's a matter of respect, some think it's a matter of trust. At the end of the day, Rodgers will be the deciding factor (obviously) in all of this.

Rodgers either sucks it up and stays, forces his way out of town or -- and I cannot stress enough how much I want this to happen purely for the spectacle -- retires from professional football. The news coverage of a 37 year old man forfeiting tens of million of dollars because he is frustrated his employer is considering continuity at his position would be at an All-World level of flashing, pulsating ESPN breaking news captions the universe has not yet seen.

I want to see it. Please, Aaron, we beg of you.

Broncos hire Kelly Kleine

On Monday, the Denver Broncos hired Kelly Kleine as executive director of football operations, this is believed to be the highest a women has been ranked within any teams scouting department.

Regardless of how ridiculous it is that women have such a small role within professional football, it is encouraging to see more female humans represented throughout different aspects of the sport. From multiple teams hiring female coaches in some capacity, to Sarah Thomas becoming the first women to referee a Superbowl earlier this year, the NFL has come a long way in a short few year -- Cam Newton will hope you don't think back too far on female representation in sports.

But, there is always a but. With no female coaches, coordinators, general mangers or heads of scouting departments, the NFL has a lot to answer for as far as being a boys-club when it come to the power structure within teams. Though not likely to change any time soon, there is light at the end of the sweaty, bro-infested tunnel, no-doubt lined with damp piles of unwashed clothing and half drunk cups of Gatorade strewn listlessly as far as the eye can see.