Travis Hunter vs. Browns and 10 juicy matchups we wish were on 2025 NFL schedule
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The NFL schedule will be released on Wednesday night, revealing 256 games spread out over four months and scattered across the country. It will feature bitter rivalries, tantalizing rematches, and storylines filled with revenge.
But it won’t have everything. It can’t. The NFL slates are simply too small, and too controlled by a formula that dictates a team’s opponents, to include every single one of the best potential matchups they could find.
We know what we’re missing, though. So here are 10 of the biggest potential matchups that won’t make the cut when the 2025 NFL schedule is released — the juiciest games that we won’t get, even though we wish we could:
The Travis Hunter Regret-a-Bowl
Cleveland Browns vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
He wasn’t the biggest star of the NFL Draft, but by all rights, Travis Hunter should have been. He is planning to become the NFL’s first two-way player since his former Colorado coach (and Shedeur’s dad) Deion Sanders in the late 1990s. He might be the most electric star on the field. And the Cleveland Browns could have taken him at No. 2. But instead, the Browns gave up his rights as part of a massive, first-round trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They preferred to acquire extra picks and drop to five where they took a defensive tackle (Mason Graham) instead of bringing the Travis Hunter Show to the shores of Lake Erie. Maybe Graham will be an excellent player. Maybe the Browns needed to do this because they have so many issues. But it sure would have been fun to see Hunter playing against them, just to show them up close what they missed.
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Battle of No. 1 picks
Chicago Bears vs. Tennessee Titans
Caleb Williams spent his rookie year in the NFL being overshadowed (and out-played) by Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels. And Cam Ward spent his 2025 NFL Draft day being overshadowed by almost everyone, especially Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. So both of them know a thing or two about being overlooked. But they are still two reigning No. 1 overall picks, in case anyone has forgotten, and great expectations come with that territory. Williams, of course, has a one-year head start and plays for a Bears team that loaded up on talent in the offseason. But it would still have been much easier to judge them against each other if they had only been scheduled to play head-to-head.
Robert Saleh’s revenge
San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Jets
The Jets unceremoniously dumped Robert Saleh in the middle of last season, as if the mess in New York was all his fault. And that indignity came after two years of forcing him to subjugate himself to the whims of Aaron Rodgers. It’ll probably be a while before he’s a head coach again — there isn’t usually a big market for people the Jets have fired. But his reputation as a defensive guru didn’t take a hit. In fact, Saleh was quickly snatched up by his old team in San Francisco. You just know he would’ve been itching to take out his frustrations on what’s left of his old team’s offense. But he’ll have to wait for another time.
The ‘Grow Up’ Game
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys
It was pretty clear that receiver George Pickens and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin didn’t see eye-to-eye in Pittsburgh. That’s why they were so eager to dump him this offseason and why they finally traded him to Dallas on Wednesday morning. Last year alone, Pickens loudly and clearly protested the way the coaching staff used him early in the season. Then late in the season, after getting two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game, Tomlin publicly reprimanded him, saying “He’s got to grow up.” Did he? The Cowboys think so. At least they hope so. Either way, Pickens surely would’ve loved to show Tomlin how much he’s changed — or at least to get a measure of revenge if he hasn’t.
The Harbaugh Bowl
Baltimore Ravens vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Because who doesn’t love a battle between these coaching brothers? We actually got a good one last November, when John’s Ravens beat Jim’s Chargers 30-23. That, of course, came 12 years after John’s Ravens beat Jim’s 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. John is actually 3-0 all-time vs. his brother in the NFL. That fact would’ve been noted constantly had they faced off again in the playoffs last season, which they seemed to be on track to do before the Chargers lost. There’s always a chance of a playoff meeting this year, since both of them are great coaches and their teams are legitimately good. Still, it would’ve been nice to see Harbaugh Bowl IV on the regular-season slate.
Re-Pete Affair
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll won 137 games, went to the playoffs 10 times and the Super Bowl twice (winning once) during his 14 years coaching the Seahawks. Then he was pushed out after the 2023 season. And Geno Smith went to two Pro Bowls, went 27-22 and made one trip to the playoffs in three seasons as Seattle’s starting quarterback. But then he was pushed out last year. Now they’re together again in Las Vegas hoping to quickly turn the Raiders into a contender. But their revenge against their old, ungrateful franchise will have to wait, because they’re not on the Seahawks’ schedule until 2026.
Russell Wilson’s Revenge
New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s not just that the Steelers thought so little of Wilson leading them to the playoffs last season that they didn’t make him an offer to stay. It’s that they seemed to prefer his backup, Justin Fields. And once Fields signed with the Jets, the Steelers decided they’d rather wait for 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to make up his mind about wanting to still play (they’re still waiting, of course). And oh, by the way, the Giants were waiting on Rodgers too, before they finally got fed up and signed Wilson instead. There’s still no guarantee that Rodgers will play. But if he does, it’ll almost certainly be with Pittsburgh. And boy would Wilson have loved to play against the old man that everyone seemed to prefer over him.
Those Lion Eyes
New York Jets vs. Chicago Bears
For the last couple of years, two of the most coveted coordinators in the league worked together in Detroit. Now, former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is the head coach of the Bears, while former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is the head coach of the Jets. The two were known for their strong leadership and brilliant schemes. Of course, the world never got to see how they would do game-planning against each other in a real, non-practice situation. Sadly, we won’t get to see it this year either. But the good news is they’ll both almost certainly still be employed when the Jets travel to Chicago in 2026.
Keeping up with Jones
New York Giants vs. Indianapolis Colts
It wasn’t all that long ago when Daniel Jones was considered the successor to Eli Manning in New York. And the Giants believed in him so much they gave him a four-year, $160 million contract. Two years later, they couldn’t get out of that fast enough as their succession plan collapsed under the weight of Jones’ injuries and terrible play. Now Jones gets a chance to battle for another starting job in Indianapolis, where he’s got a good chance to beat out Anthony Richardson. If he does, though, he’ll have to prove to the Giants that they made a mistake from afar since the Colts and Giants don’t play each other this season — unless they end up playing in the Super Bowl, which seems pretty unlikely.
Colorado Homecoming
Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos
With at least three quarterbacks in front of him on the depth chart, there’s almost no scenario where Shedeur Sanders plays a single down this season. But don’t think for a second that will stop the hype or the celebrity circus that surrounds him. And it would be multiplied by 10 if only the Browns were scheduled to play this season in Denver, a short, half-hour drive from his old campus in Boulder, Colo. (where, of course, his college number has already been retired). The stories and social media coverage would be everywhere. His dad, along with probably most of Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes team, would be in the stands and doing plenty of pregame interviews. Yeah, Shedeur would probably be in street clothes as the inactive fourth quarterback. He might even be on the practice squad. But you just know that spotlight will follow him wherever he goes and would be brightest in his old hometown.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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