NFL teams playing internationally used to be able to call their shot on whether they returned home to a bye week.
The Broncos had one in 2022 when they got back from beating Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium, for example.
Now, with an ever-expanding international schedule, however, teams can’t call their shot one way or the other. They can request, NFL officials said Thursday, but it doesn’t always fall the way teams want.
“As the world gets more complicated with more and more international games and all the other obligations across the schedule, that bye after an international game is not a guarantee,” NFL vice president of scheduling Onnie Bose said on a conference call with reporters Thursday.