Devin McCourty to join NBC's 'Football Night in America' NFL pregame show
A consistent, cerebral force in the NFL during his playing days, former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty will be back on television screens for football fans this fall. Following his retirement from the NFL at the end of last season, McCourty will join NBC’s “Football Night in America,” according to The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand.
The show airs from 7 p.m. until game time on NBC ahead of “Sunday Night Football,” the latter being one of the most watched pieces of regular TV programming in the U.S. on an annual basis. McCourty will join a studio crew featuring Maria Taylor, Tony Dungy, Chris Simms, Jason Garrett, Matthew Berry and Mike Florio.
Devin also worked as an analyst for “NFL Today” on CBS in 2022, while he was still an active player for the Patriots.
McCourty will now join his twin brother, Jason — who retired in 2021 — in the media ranks. Jason is an analyst for the NFL on “Good Morning Football” along with calling games on Westwood One.
According to The Post, McCourty might also call games on Westwood One alongside Jason.
Both McCourtys had made an impression at the NFL’s media boot camp for players current and former, The Post noted.
McCourty played 13 seasons in the NFL, all for the New England Patriots after being drafted out of Rutgers in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was a three-time Super Bowl champion in New England, three-time second team All-Pro and a two-time Pro Bowler, including his rookie season.
In other NFL media news, owners approved a measure to flex games to Thursday night
NFL owners have approved flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football, according to multiple reports, including one from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The change will allow the NFL to switch into better games on Thursday Night Football for Week 13-17, if needed.
Games currently scheduled to take place on Thursday Night Football on those weeks are: Seahawks at Cowboys, Patriots at Steelers, Chargers at Raiders, Saints at Rams and Jets at Browns.
According to Schefter, only two flexes are allowed. The flexes must be announced 28 days in advance.
While flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football was ultimately approved, not all teams voted yes for the move. The report from Schefter states that the Jets, Packers, Bears, Raiders, Lions, Bengals and Steelers all voted no.
Another new change previously announced that is coming to the schedule is that teams can be on Thursday Night Football twice. NFL games have been played on Thursday night since 2006 but previously teams could only appear once per season.