One of the NFL’s oldest rivalries will reportedly be involved in the 2026 Thanksgiving slate.
The Bears are set to face the Lions in Detroit on November 26, per a report from NFL reporter Jordan Schultz. The two teams also played on Thanksgiving in 2024 and have met on the holiday five times since the start of the 2014 season.
Detroit won both games between the NFC North teams in 2025, which means that Bears head coach Ben Johnson is still looking for his first win against the team that employed him as their offensive coordinator from 2022-2024.
The NFL has already announced that the Eagles will be in Dallas for another of this year’s Thanksgiving games. They’ve also announced that the Lions will be in Buffalo for a Thursday night game in Week 2.
All of the international matchups for the 2026 NFL season were announced on Wednesday morning.
We already knew the first two games on the schedule. The 49ers and Rams will meet in the NFL’s first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia in Week 1 while the Ravens and Cowboys will head to Brazil to play a game in Rio in Week 3.
There will be three straight weeks of games in London kicking off the next week. The Colts will face the Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Week 4 and the Eagles and Jaguars will square off in the same place the next week. The Jaguars will stay in London to take on the Texans at Wembley Stadium in Week 6.
From there, it will be on to Paris for the first time in league history. The Steelers will battle the Saints at Stade de France in Week 7.
The Bengals-Falcons matchup in Madrid in Week 9 was announced earlier this week and it will be followed by a Patriots-Lions clash at Allianz Arena in Munich the next weekend. The NFL’s return to Mexico City will come in Week 11 when the Vikings and the 49ers square off on Sunday Night Football.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has talked about his desire to see the league play international games each week and the NFL is moving closer to that goal in 2026.
The Bills have made a few roster moves on Tuesday.
Buffalo announced the club has signed tight end Shane Zylstra along with a pair of 2026 draft picks: fourth-round receiver Skyler Bell and fourth-round linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr.
Zylstra has appeared in 35 games with six starts in his career, all for the Lions. He’s caught 18 passes for 136 yards with four touchdowns.
As a corresponding move to add Zylstra, the Bills released kicker Maddux Trujillo, who had joined the club in January on a futures deal.
The Lions have taken care of some important business with their rookie class.
Detroit announced on Tuesday that the club has signed its 2026 draft class.
That means first-round offensive tackle Blake Miller, second-round edge rusher Derrick Moore, fourth-round linebacker Jimmy Rolder, fifth-round cornerback Keith Abney, fifth-round receiver Kendrick Law, sixth-round defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard, and seventh-round defensive lineman Tyre West are all under contract on their rookie four-year deals.
Miller is expected to compete to start at right tackle.
Penei Sewell, a first-round pick in 2021, had played at right tackle over the last several years. But he’s flipping over to left tackle after Taylor Decker was released by the team in March.
Additionally, the Lions announced they’ve signed nine undrafted free agents: Quarterback Luke Altmyer, defensive back Aamaris Brown, linebacker Erick Hunter, defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina, tight end Miles Kitselman, defensive lineman Anthony Lucas, defensive lineman Eric O’Neill, offensive lineman Melvin Priestly, and cornerback De’Shawn Rucker.
Running back Isiah Pacheco is known for his aggressive style, often described as someone who runs as if he’s angry at the ground.
After completing his rookie contract with the Chiefs, Pacheco signed a one-year deal with the Lions in free agency. Though Pacheco has been a starter for much of his career, helping Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023, he’s now set to slot behind Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. Effectively, Pacheco is replacing David Montgomery, who was traded to the Texans earlier in the offseason.
With the way the Lions want to run the ball, Pacheco should still be a key piece of Detroit’s offense in 2026.
In a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, Lions General Manager Brad Holmes noted that he and head coach Dan Campbell have always been aligned on needing two good backs to have a truly effective run game.
“Getting Pacheco, me and Dan have always been big fans of Pacheco,” Holmes said. “It’s his mindset and his intent in how he runs. As you know, it’s hard to get yards in this league, and those holes close up quick. And so, if you have the right mindset, you can get a lot of hidden yards — if you just have a little bit more desire.
“So, I think he’s going to be a really good complement. Always been a fan from afar, just love how he runs [since] he’s been in the league. And we don’t expect anything different to being a really good complement to Jahmyr.”
Pacheco has dealt with injuries the last two years, limited to 20 games over that span. In 2025, he rushed for 462 yards with one touchdown and caught 19 passes for 101 yards.
Pacheco’s best season was his second, as in 2023 he rushed for 935 yards with seven touchdowns and caught 44 passes for 2244 yards with two TDs.
