Training camp starts in July but for a lot of fans, the NFL season doesn’t start until they hear the sound of Liev Schreiber’s voice narrating over a training camp practice. It is the sign that the football season is getting close. For those not in the know, that last reference was about “Hard Knocks,” the hit HBO show that follows a team around their training camp and preseason games. Last year we were treated to the last season of the Oakland Raiders and it was interesting following around Jon Gruden, Antonio Brown, Derek Carr, and the rest of the silver and black. This year, the Raiders are exempt from the show. In fact, a lot of teams are exempt from the show since the NFL put in new rules about what teams may be forced onto their small bit of reality television. Teams that have made the playoffs in the past two seasons added a new head coach, or have been on the show in the past 10 years can certainly volunteer to be on “Hard Knocks,” but there’s little chance of that happening in today’s NFL. That leaves us with five teams eligible for this year’s version of the show. Let’s get to them in alphabetical order — this is not a ranking, but just what teams can be forced on by the league.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals were not eligible to be forced on Hard Knocks last season since they added new head coach Kliff Kingsbury into the fold. This year is different. It seems like their owner might be open to the possibility of having his team on the show. The league may also want to push 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray as the next big thing coming up in the world of NFL quarterbacks. There would be some interesting storylines depending on what Arizona does with its backfield situation as Kenyan Drake is a free agent but he passed David Johnson on the depth chart last season. The only problem could be that the Cardinals aren’t exactly a marquee team and there are other options on this list that could have a bigger pull with the greater population of NFL fans.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos were also not eligible last year because they hired a new head coach in Vic Fangio. Much like the Cardinals, they could get the call this year. The Broncos will roll with second-year quarterback Drew Lock this season so it would be similar to the situation in Arizona where “Hard Knocks” could focus on a young up and coming quarterback. Von Miller would be a great personality for the cameras to follow. We could learn more about Courtland Sutton — the best receiver that casual fans may not know about — and get an inside look at how John Elway makes sure everyone on his team is tall enough to be a real member of the Broncos. Denver may be able to wiggle its way out of ending up on HBO since it’s ownership situation is a bit murky and the league wouldn’t like to call attention to it.
Detroit Lions
There were some rumors that the Lions might actually end up on “Hard Knocks” last season but the league and HBO went with Oakland instead. This could be Detroit’s year. They have Matthew Stafford coming back from injury. Matt Patricia may be coaching for his job. If Darius Slay is still on the team come training camp, he may be an interesting study on what happens to a player who was on the trade block. Plus, the Lions have a high first-round draft pick and HBO loves covering those types of players. Patricia comes from the Bill Belichick coaching tree so he would absolutely loathe having those cameras around all the time.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have technically never been on the HBO show, but they were on a similar version called “Inside Training Camp: Jaguars Summer” that was produced by NFL Films and aired in 2004 on NFL Network. It’s obviously very memorable.
This version of the show would have to focus on Gardner Minshew. He’s a pull quote waiting to happen. Doug Marrone would get a lot of focus as he — much like Matt Patricia — is probably coaching for his job this season. The Jaguars have a tight salary cap and they will have to shed some players so name recognition might not be a benefit for Jacksonville making this year’s version of the show. Also, the Jaguars aren’t exactly a national brand although maybe this helps HBO distribute the game in London where the Jaguars will play two games this year.
Pittsburgh Steelers
This may be the one and only chance to get the Steelers on “Hard Knocks” and it would be really surprising if the NFL and HBO passed on one of the most historic franchises in the NFL. Mike Tomlin would be great on camera. Ben Roethlisberger is making a comeback from injury. Juju Smith-Schuster could discuss his aspirations of being a No. 1 receiver in the NFL without the help of someone like Antonio Brown pulling away coverage. The Steelers defense is full of young talented players that would be able to show their personalities. The Steelers have to be odds on favorite to have their practice artfully described by Schreiber.
