Football is back. For the first time since February, the NFL switches the lights back on, and as ever the new season start in Canton, Ohio with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. It is the unofficial start of the campaign, with the Arizona Cardinals taking on the Carolina Panthers.
The two sides meet on Thursday 6 August at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, with kickoff at 8pm ET, with Arizona designated the home team. It is the 107th NFL season, and it begins on the same weekend the game welcomes its newest legends.
Why these two teams, and what to expect
Both franchises have a headline name going into the Hall this year. Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals legandary wideout who spent his whole career in Arizona, is a first-ballot inductee and similarly Luke Kuechly, the Panthers linebacker and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, joins him. Both played their entire careers for the team that drafted them.
They headline a strong Class of 2026 that also includes Drew Brees, all-time leading scorer Adam Vinatieri, and seniors nominee Roger Craig, with all five expected to be recognised on the field before the game and formally enshrined on Saturday 8 August.
Carolina arrive for this fixture off an NFC South title and will likely keep their key men fresh. It is their first appearance in this game since their 1995 debut.
Meanwhile, Arizona are comiong off a 3-14 season and into a new era under rookie head coach Mike LaFleur, so expect their younger players to get a runout. Tight end Trey McBride, coming off a record 126-catch season, and safety Budda Baker are the names to watch, if either sees the field for long.
As always, the Hall of Fame Game is a soft landing after a long offseason. The football will be scrappy and the rosters unfamiliar, but the signal matters: preseason is here, the regular season arrives in September, and another race to the Super Bowl is officially under way.