49ers rumored to have zero international games on 2023 schedule
By Peter Panacy
It doesn't look as if the 49ers will partake in the NFL International series at all this season despite doing so a year ago.
We're just days away from knowing what the San Francisco 49ers' 2023 schedule will look like. While we do know which teams the Niners will play this upcoming season, we're not quite there yet when it comes to knowing when.
And in some special circumstances, where.
The NFL will officially announce the 2023 schedule on Thursday, May 11, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday:
Now official: The 2023 NFL regular season schedule will be released Thursday, May 11th.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 8, 2023
The day before, teams playing international games outside of the United States will have those contests and dates made public. A few teams' games have been made public knowledge, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars playing in England and the Kansas City Chiefs playing in Germany.
But, are the Niners going to play overseas or across any border this season?
Apparently not.
49ers schedule rumors hit at no international games in 2023
Two San Franciso insiders, NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco and The Athletic's Matt Barrows, passed along the scuttlebutt they were hearing about the 49ers playing in any international games this season.
According to both, the answer is "no."
NFL schedule is likely out this week, and it seems unlikely the #49ers will be heading overseas for a game.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) May 8, 2023
It's not looking like 49ers will be the Jags' opponent in London this year. Team already has a pretty wicked east coast schedule and sending them another 3,000 miles eastward would be rough. Sked is supposed to be released this week
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) May 8, 2023
As Barrows pointed out, this is actually something of a bonus. The Niners are already playing both the AFC North and NFC East this season and have a trip scheduled to play the Jags, which will now apparently be in Florida and not the United Kingdom.
And West Coast teams like San Francisco typically surpass the bulk of the league in mileage traveled.
Ensuring the 49ers don't have to play overseas helps with that.
Last year, the Niners partook in the NFL International Series by "visiting" the Arizona Cardinals at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico. That was a game San Francisco won 38-10, and despite being the road team, the home crowd in Mexico City was clearly pulling for the 49ers.
It looks like fans will have to pull for the Niners in person within the United States this go-around.
Next. Too-early win/loss predictions for 49ers 2023 schedule. dark