Raiders, not Redskins, to be featured on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ in 2019
The Oakland Raiders have officially been selected to be on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” for the 2019 preseason. The Redskins will not have to go on the show.
The Washington Redskins had a chance to be featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2019. Thankfully, the team dodged that bullet. Instead, the Oakland Raiders will be featured on the program.
The Raiders were a good choice given Jon Gruden’s presence and the number of personalities in the Raiders locker room (Antonio Brown, Vontaze Burfict, Richie Incognito, among others). While some thought that, HBO may be trying to save them for the following year when they are expected to move to Las Vegas, they ultimately didn’t want to take the chance that the team wouldn’t be available. So, they elected to use the Raiders for the 2019 iteration of the show.
Hard Knocks has been around since the early 2000s, but it has become more popular in recent years. Each year, the NFL gives HBO exclusive access to one team in the preseason to make a reality TV series about the squad. And every year, interested fans watch the program.
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Teams can volunteer to be on the program, but few do. Thus, the NFL can force a team to be on Hard Knocks if they meet the following criteria:
- They don’t have a first-year head coach
- They haven’t made the playoffs in at least two seasons
- They haven’t been on the show in the past 10 years
We certainly knew that the Redskins checked off the first two marks on that list. And for those that didn’t know, the Redskins have never been on Hard Knocks, so that checked off the third bullet on this list.
There were five teams that met the criteria on this list. The Lions, Giants, Redskins, Raiders, and 49ers. And some were worried that the Redskins could be the choice, as they had a lot of compelling storylines ahead of the 2019 season.
Of the candidates for the show, the Redskins have, arguably, the most questions to answer about their team. They have a rookie quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, who is expected to step up in place of an injured Alex Smith. However, Haskins may be in competition with Case Keenum and Colt McCoy for that job, so the show certainly could have been interested in that three-man race.
Additionally, Jay Gruden is on the hot seat, so that was definitely an intriguing storyline. And, from a practical standpoint, if Gruden doesn’t survive the season, the ‘Skins wouldn’t be candidates for Hard Knocks next year. So, if Gruden does go, this may have been the last chance for the show producers to capture that potential drama, at least in the immediate future.
But, the point is now moot. And frankly, most Redskins fans are probably happy that the team isn’t on the show. It will give them one less locker room distraction as they look to escape the mediocrity that the last few seasons have brought.
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The Raiders will be on Hard Knocks and we’ll get a chance to see a behind-the-scenes look at the elder Gruden’s team. They have the flashy, big names that could make the program somewhat interesting.