Hard Knocks has outlived its usefulness. It’s possible that the NFL finally agrees.
Citing a league official, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that an an announcement will be made during halftime of Thursday night’s Giants-Washington game “that will involve the future of the Hard Knocks series.”
The most prudent announcement would be to end it. It currently adds nothing at all to the NFL discourse or the broader football experience. This year, with the Cowboys serving as the focal point of the series, it was conspicuously uneventful (but for the drone segment). I watched the first two episodes before forgetting it was even on.
It had its time. Its time is over. The most compelling scenes — players learning that they’re being cut — are now omitted, because we never should have had a front-row seat for such sensitive exchanges.
There’s simply no reason to do it. It’s not interesting. It’s definitely not must-see TV. It’s become forgettable and irrelevant, and the league’s broader interests would be better served if it simply went away.
The NFL is making some sort of announcement on Thursday night, just nine days after the 2021 finale. While it’s not know what the announcement will be, it should be an announcement that it will be no more.