Jason Garrett stepping in for Cris Collinsworth for Thanksgiving NFL game

Jason Garrett will step in to replace Cris Collinsworth for NBC’s Thanksgiving Day coverage of the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, it was announced. Garrett will join play-by-play man Mike Tirico and sideline reporter Melissa Stark.

This won’t be the first time that Collinsworth has not worked a Thanksgiving, nor is it the first time that Garrett has been his replacement. Then again, the veteran broadcaster is certainly entitled to spend the holiday with his family after more than 30 years of NFL coverage.

The game between the Bengals and Ravens will be the nightcap of three Thanksgiving Day games, set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions will start the day at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, followed by the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

FOX will still have its normal set of broadcaster with Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt set to call the Lions-Packers game. However, both announcers will in turn have the Sunday after Thanksgiving off.

Additionally, CBS will also have its normal announcers with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo calling the Chiefs-Cowboys contest. They won’t even get the luxury of having Sunday off, as they’ll also call games then for the network.

As for the actual game between the Bengals and Ravens, both teams enter in the midst of much different situations. Baltimore has reeled off five straight victories to put itself tied for first place in the AFC North Standings. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is reeling, having lost eight of their past nine and four straight entering Thursday’s matchup.

The Bengals did get some massive news, however, as quarterback Joe Burrow was ruled in for the game against the Ravens. Burrow has not played since suffering a turf toe injury in Week 2 and his return should be a huge boost for the Cincinnati offense.

Last year in 2024, Burrow finished fourth in the MVP voting after putting up the best numbers of his career to date. He threw for 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns, both of which led the NFL, and had only nine interceptions.

We’ll see whether that can be enough to finally get the Bengals back in the win column this week. Garrett and company will be on the call while perhaps Collinsworth watches from home to close out Thanksgiving Day.