NFL Leaders Warm To Longer Season

The NFL's preseason wraps up over the next two days, with the Washington Redskins and Indianapolis Colts playing their fifth exhibition games and other teams playing their fourth. Those who think the football has been forgettable and the injuries suffered by players unnecessary can take solace in one thing: Most of those in the sport, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, agree.

Sentiment among NFL leaders to reduce the preseason to two or three games per team and lengthen the regular season to 17 or 18 games, up from the current 16, is growing, and it seems generally accepted that such an adjustment likely will be made within the next few years.