Written by John Breech at CBSSports.com
It looks like the Indianapolis Colts have started a trend.
One year after the Colts requested to not have a bye following their game in London, another team has decided to do the same. Ravens president Dick Cass told ESPN.com this week that his team has asked the NFL not to schedule a bye week for Baltimore following the team’s Week 3 game against the Jaguars.
It’s a surprising request because it’s pretty rare to go that route.
Ever since the NFL started holding regular season games in London in 2007, every team that played there between 2007 and 2015 got a bye the following week to deal with the long flight home and the time change.
In 2016, the Colts bucked that trend by requesting to skip out on the post-London bye week so they could have their week off later in the season. Of the six teams that played in London in 2016, the Colts were the only ones that didn’t get a bye following their trip to England.
The ‘no-bye’ plan worked for the Colts as they beat the Bears 29-23 in Week 5 following their Week 4 game in London.
It seems that the Ravens are also hoping to get a bye later in the season. If they were stuck with a post-London bye week, it would come in Week 4, which is the earliest an NFL team can get a bye.
Also, just for the record, this request has no bearing on whether or not the Ravens will be taking a ship to the game.
Anyway, the Ravens aren’t the only team in the NFL this year that has requested to miss out on the post-London bye. The Dolphins have also asked the league have also told the league they don’t want a bye week after their trip to London.
To continue reading this article, click here.
