Football returns tonight in Canton as Brees and Fitzgerald headline Hall of Fame weekend
The Panthers and Cardinals open the 2026 NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game, the curtain-raiser on a weekend built around a five-man enshrinement class.
Six months after Super Bowl LX, football is back. The 2026 NFL preseason opens tonight with the Hall of Fame Game between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio — kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, with Football Night in America on site from 7 p.m. According to NBC Sports, the pregame show also marks the studio-analyst debut of former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
The matchup is the message
Look at who's playing, then look at who's going into the Hall. The Class of 2026 — announced at NFL Honors in February — is quarterback Drew Brees, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly and placekicker Adam Vinatieri. Fitzgerald spent his entire career with the Cardinals; Kuechly played every down of his with the Panthers. Their two franchises meeting in Canton two days before enshrinement is the kind of scheduling that writes its own pregame ceremony.
The five will be enshrined Saturday, August 8 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, bringing the Hall's membership to 387. Craig arrives via the Seniors pathway after three previous trips as a finalist; the other four came through the modern-era ballot, with Brees and Fitzgerald in on their first year of eligibility on the February announcement.
The road to September
From here the calendar accelerates: preseason Week 1 runs August 13–17, per FBSchedules, with all 32 teams in action. The regular season opens September 9, when the defending champion Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots — a rematch of Super Bowl LX, which Seattle won 29-13 in February.
Tonight's starters will mostly be players fighting for roster spots, and that's fine. The score won't matter. The fact that there is one again does.