NFL to release schedule on May 12

The Cleveland Browns have known for some time now who they will be playing in the 2021 season.

The Browns, along with the rest of the league’s teams, will soon learn just when those games will take place.

The NFL announced on Wednesday that the full 2021 regular season schedule will be released on May 12 at 8 p.m. during a televised special on NFL Network. The show will be “packed with fresh schedules and division-by-division analysis, breaking down the top matchups and prime-time games,” according to NFL.com.

Cleveland and the rest of the teams in the AFC North Division will play games against the AFC West and NFC North this season, and the Browns will have nine home games this fall, thanks to the addition of a 17th game.

The home schedule, which does not appear very daunting (nor very exciting), includes the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals.

On the road, in addition to return matches with the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals, the Browns will take on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots.

The schedule features games against five teams that joined the Browns in last season’s playoffs in the Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Packers and Bears.

With the Browns coming off an 11-win season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs, the schedule should include several primetime games or ones in the late Sunday afternoon national window.

The game against the Chiefs would appear to be a lock for a Sunday night appearance, and other games that should attract national attention are the road visit to the Packers, along with one of the games against the Steelers and one against the Ravens.