The Hall of Fame Game, involving the Pittsburgh Steelers, officially has a date and time.
The game, which was not played last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will kick off at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5.
The Steelers will play the Dallas Cowboys — the two scheduled participants from last season — in the annual preseason opener. The announcement was made in a Twitter post Monday by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 2021 HOF Game game will be a meeting over a year in the making. Originally planned for 2020, this year’s game will be a highly anticipated matchup between 2 storied franchises: the @steelers & @dallascowboys.
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 15, 2021
How to Attend: https://t.co/qb6lj8Th0k#PFHOF21 | @HOFExperiences pic.twitter.com/ZirvcahLZP
The date of the Hall of Fame game typically is a marker for when teams participating can report to training camp. In recent years, Hall of Fame game teams were permitted to arrive at training camp 15 days prior to the event. That would give the Steelers a July 21 reporting date — provided the 2021 season also isn’t interrupted by the pandemic.
With the NFL set to play a 17-game regular season in 2021, the preseason would be reduced to two or three games for each team, a schedule that hasn’t been finalized by the league. The Hall of Fame Game presumably would provide an extra tuneup for the Cowboys and Steelers.
In a tweet promoting the game, the Hall of Fame curiously chose a picture of Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who will be an unrestricted free agent in March.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is offering a ticket package that includes a gameday tailgate party, seats for the game and a one-day admission to the Hall of Fame museum.
The Steelers will have five representatives inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer: Alan Faneca and the late Bill Nunn from the Class of 2021, and Troy Polamalu, Bill Cowher and Donnie Shell from the Class of 2020.
