Arizona Cardinals reportedly set to host the Browns on Thanksgiving

The Arizona Cardinals may be taking part in football tradition in 2019.

The official NFL Schedule release is less than a week away. While the Arizona Cardinals know who they will be playing, they don’t know when.

Earlier in the offseason, there was a rumor that the Cardinals would host the Cleveland Browns on the 2019 NFL opening Monday Night Football game. Although it seems that the Browns will stay on Monday night, but it won’t be against the Arizona Cardinals.

This week has been all about the Browns schedule being leaked. First, there was Odell Beckham’s vague tweet about how the world works. Then came the star receiver’s Instagram comment to New York Jets’ safety Jamal Adams saying “see you week one.”  That seems to be a lock as it’s the 50th anniversary of Monday Night Football, and the very first game to appear? Browns and the Jets.

Now going around twitter is a picture of what could be the Browns unofficially official 2019 schedule.

If this leak holds any weight, it is expected that the Cardinals will host Cleveland on Thanksgiving night. The Cardinals are 4-5 in said night matchups since 2008, with their most recent game a 45-10 meltdown that cost Mike McCoy his job in Arizona and ultimately sealed the fate of Steve Wilks in my mind.

The 2019 matchup would also be the Cardinals first Thanksgiving match up since the 2008 season, where the Cardinals lost 48-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This game holds a lot of stories as there are a lot of tie ins between both teams.

If Josh Rosen is on the roster, it would be a battle of top-10 picks from the 2018 draft, between he and Baker Mayfield. If it is Kyler Murray like many expect, it would be a battle between the last two Heisman Trophy winners and last two Oklahoma quarterbacks to go as the top pick in the draft.

Kliff Kingsbury also once coached Mayfield at Texas Tech, before Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma and the rest is history.

Former Cardinals coach Freddie Kitchens is now the head coach in Cleveland. Kitchens was in the desert from 2007-2017. He survived two coaching changes before Steve Wilks decided it was time to part ways.

And lastly, Steve Wilks is the defensive coordinator for the Browns. I’m sure some of these Cardinals would like to get some revenge for the 2018 season.

This will be an exciting game as the Arizona Cardinals attempt to rebound from an awful season. The Cleveland Browns have a lot to prove as well, as they look to show that their success last season was no fluke.