ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 02: Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals makes a pass reception against Rolando McClain #55 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 2, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The NFL pre-season may not have even begun yet, but there is still some great football for fans to watch on Thursday night.
After a week of training camp, the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals will face off for this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Game — an annual matchup — in Canton, Ohio on Thursday (Aug. 3) at 8 pm EST.
This contest is typically held on Sunday following the Hall of Fame ceremony, but it was changed to Thursday after last year’s incident involving poor field conditions.
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The game will be held at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, and will be broadcast on NBC and NFL Network, with streaming available at NBC Sports (nbcsports.com) and NFL Game Pass (www.nfl.com/gamepass).
Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth will serve as announcers, with Michele Tafoya contributing as the sideline reporter.
The Hall of Fame Game is the first event in a weekend of festivities in Canton, headlined by the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, which is held on Saturday. This year’s inductees are Morten Andersen, Terrell Davis, Kenny Easley, Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Kurt Warner.
Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald took to Twitter in February — when this year’s Hall of Fame Game was first announced — to express his disappointment with having to play five preseason games including the HOF Game and an additional week of training camp.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has already announced that none of his starters will play on Thursday. That means Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer, David Johnson, Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Chandler Jones will all be absent.
Palmer’s backup Drew Stanton is also unlikely to play, which means Blaine Gabbert will probably start at quarterback. Gabbert signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals in May after spending three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. More young players than veterans will get their chance to shine on Thursday.
“This will be about the young guys,” Arians says, although top draft choice Haason Reddick of Temple , who is making a switch from defensive end to linebacker, will see limited action too.
He “is not going to play a ton,” Arians said.
Meanwhile, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has decided to leave the following players off his squad for the Hall of Fame Game: Maliek Collins, Ryan Switzer, Justin Durant, Jourdan Lewis and David Irving. Garrett also declined to name his starters for Thursday’s matchup. “I will not make that declaration right now,” he said Tuesday.
Quarterback Kellen Moore could get his first start for Dallas since the end of the 2015 season. Moore joined the Cowboys from the Detroit Lions in 2015, his fourth year in the league.
Here’s how to watch the 2017 NFL Hall of Fame Game:
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