NFL Notes: London, Chargers, Raiders & Redskins

London

The NFL announced Friday morning that they’ve increased the number of games played in the UK market ad have scheduled four games in London for the 2017 season.

“We continue to be incredibly excited by the passion and love for the NFL shown by our millions of UK fans,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  “London is an amazing city.  We have had tremendous support from our fans, from Mayor Khan and other government leaders and business partners, and we are looking forward to taking the next step in the UK by playing four games in London next season.”

“London staging a fourth NFL game is fantastic news – not only for the millions of sports fans who get to enjoy our iconic stadiums – but also because it confirms our status as the go-to choice for hosting the world’s biggest sporting events,” said the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. “London is the international home of the NFL and staging the equivalent of what would be half an American football team’s home games in the city is a huge step towards my ambition of bringing a franchise to the capital.

“I am really excited to welcome more NFL teams to London next year, as well as thousands of American football fans from around the globe, showing that London is open to the very best sporting events and the world’s greatest athletes.”

Chargers

• Vincent Bonsignore is hearing that the StubHub Center is currently the favorite to be the Chargers’ temporary home if they move to Los Angeles before the Inglewood stadium is built.

Raiders

• Multiple sources tell Jason Cole that they expect the Raiders and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson to finalize talks soon, but that doesn’t mean they reach an agreement on a deal for the team to relocate to Las Vegas.
• Cole says that multiple owners believe the city of Oakland and county officials are playing political games based on their recent talks. The NFL is reportedly getting the impression that Oakland officials don’t have a strong desire to keep the Raiders in the Bay Area, given that the league has approached them twice about buying or leasing the Oakland Coliseum property to serve as the developer for a new stadium.
• Cole points out that the NFL acting as the developer would actually make it easier for the Raiders to stay in Oakland because there would be less competition to profit off the project.
• However, Cole adds that the city of Oakland and the county haven’t responded to the NFL’s request to have an idea of what it would cost for them to get involved.

Redskins

• Redskins TE Jordan Reed (shoulder) mentioned Thursday that he believes he’ll be able to play in Week 14’s game against the Eagles. Reed said he feels like he has gotten all of his range of motion back. (Mike Garafolo)