The NFL is releasing the league schedule this week. Wear something festive and mark your calendars for Thursday, April 18th!

It seems like every year we are all so focused on addressing our mock fatigue that we totally lose sight of the fact the schedule is typically released the Thursday preceding the first night of the draft. It’s kind of nice they do it that way. It gets you pumped and primed for what always ends up being a fun week of pre-draft activity, the draft itself, and the fall-out transactions that follow the draft’s conclusion.

On December 31st of 2018, we got the final list of opponents Denver is facing this season.

Home: Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns.

Away: Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills.

Not going to lie to you here, folks. The home match-ups this year are spectacularly weak. Who is going to be pumped to see Jacksonville, Tennessee, or Detroit? You know it’s bad when the Bears and Browns are the headliners.

Away match-ups, on the other hand, offer a bit more, especially with a retooling Green Bay hosting. I would expect some sort of nifty uniform antics with this game as I have it slotted as a ‘for-sure’ nationally televised game. Indy could be interesting, but it certainly doesn’t have the punch that it’s had for the last two decades... Which might be a good thing for Denver. I bet this one is Denver’s Thursday night game.

The AFC West will be tough as hell this year, but the Raiders will find their way to the bottom as they usually do. The Chiefs will regress over last year because their defense has been weakened by personnel losses. However let’s not lose sight of the fact they’re still a group of REGULAR SEASON warriors. Philip Rivers should have a few more kids before the season is out. We should all chip in and hook him up with a new bolo tie.

So where do you have Denver? I’ll throw down now and say 9-7.

HORSE TRACKS

Mason's Mailbag: Expect a major impact from Mike Munchak
The Broncos' new coach on the offensive line helped create a massive upgrade in pass protection for the Steelers over the last five years and could do the same in Denver.

Sean McVay: Jared Goff doesn’t have to prove he’s the man – ProFootballTalk
Rams head coach Sean McVay said last month that the team is in no rush to extend quarterback Jared Goff's contract before his fourth NFL season and some might think that waiting to see how Goff bounces back from his rough outing in the Super Bowl is tied to the team's approach to his next deal.

Stephen Gostkowski: Taking my time made me sure I wanted to stay in New England – ProFootballTalk
The Patriots signed kicker Stephen Gostkowski to a two-year contract last week and that means the 13-year veteran will stay in the only uniform he's ever worn in the NFL.

Chris Ballard looking for “some argument” in Colts draft room – ProFootballTalk
The Colts continued their preparations for the draft on Saturday by inviting local prospects to their facility for workouts and visiting with former Notre Dame defensive lineman Jerry Tillery.

Daryl Johnston: People took jobs with the AAF because we were misled – ProFootballTalk
Daryl "Moose" Johnston, the former Cowboys fullback and current FOX commentator, also had a side gig as the General Manager of the San Antonio franchise in the Alliance of American Football. That did not end well.

Hall of Fame plans a massive celebration for NFL’s 100th anniversary – ProFootballTalk
This season will be the NFL's 100th. But the 100th anniversary of the NFL comes in 2020. September 17, 2020, to be exact. That's one hundred years to the day after the day the NFL began, in Canton, Ohio. On that day, football will return to Canton, in a big way.

The time is now to tie future earnings to cap percentage – ProFootballTalk
Others have tried, but no one may be in better position to blaze a new trail for NFL players than Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. And the time has come for someone to sign a contract that ties his future pay not to specific dollars but to a percentage of the ever-growing cap.

Report: Clowney, Texans not close – ProFootballTalk
The No. 1 player in our Free Agent Top 100, Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, have already reached an agreement on a five-year, $105 million contract. But that apparently hasn't helped set the parameters for a contract for our No. 2 free agent, Jadeveon Clowney.

Eagles' Jalen Mills cited for fighting Washington Wizards' Devin Robinson in D.C. - CBSSports.com
The two were detained for disorderly affray after scuffling outside a D.C. nightclub early Saturday

2019 NFL Draft: Patriots reportedly brought in two quarterbacks for pre-draft visits - CBSSports.com
Daniel Jones and Will Grier visited the Patriots' facility last week

Anthony Barr on why he spurned the Jets: 'I knew that in my heart it didn't feel right' - CBSSports.com
Barr decided to return to Minnesota just a day after agreeing to a deal with New York

Dwayne Haskins to visit Giants next week amid rumors of first-round slide - CBSSports.com
The Giants say they have confidence in Eli Manning but maybe it's a smokescreen

Tyrann Mathieu on Russell Wilson contract rumors: 'Russ wants New York' - CBSSports.com
Wilson set an April 15 deadline for the Seahawks to give him a new contract, and Honey Badger thinks he's on his way out