Cowboys And Cardinals To Face Off In 2017 Pro Football Hall Of Fame Game

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced on Thursday opponents for its annual preseason game.

Cowboys to Play Cardinals in 2017 Hall of Fame Game

The Dallas Cowboys will face the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 3, 2017 at the new Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

The choice of teams is logical, with former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones both set to be enshrined into the Hall.

The rest of the 2017 Class includes running backs Terrell Davis and LaDainian Tomlinson, pass-rusher Jason Taylor, safety Kenny Easley and kicker Morten Andersen.

This year’s Hall of Fame showdown will be held on a Thursday for the first time in NFL history. The annual game opens the NFL preseason.

On Friday, August 4, the Hall will honor the Class of 2017 during the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. Then on Saturday, Aug. 5, the Class of 2017 will be formally enshrined into the Hall of Fame during a nationally televised ceremony at the stadium.

Fans will surely be delighted to see the Cowboys’ dynamic duo, quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, who led Dallas to an NFC-best 13-3 record in their rookie season last year. Cardinals fans, meanwhile, will look forward to seeing quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. 

Fitzgerald tweeted Thursday, however, that he was not happy about the extra preseason week and training camp week. He called the news of his team playing in the Hall of Fame game the “worst news ever.”

Fitzgerald refers to the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, which will be held Aug. 2-6 in nearby Akron, Ohio.

The Cardinals receiver was the co-winner, along with New York Giants QB Eli Manning, of the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which he received the night before Super Bowl LI earlier this month.

The 2016 Hall of Fame game between the Colts and Packers was canceled due to poor field conditions.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 01: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys looks to hand the ball off during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 1, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)