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Patriots among 16 teams eligible for ‘Hard Knocks’ in 2026
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- Patriots among 16 teams eligible for ‘Hard Knocks’ in 2026
There are 16 teams eligible for HBO's "Hard Knocks" in 2026, including the New England Patriots .
The rules changed for eligibility in 2025 after the 32 owners decided to modify them. A team doesn't have to participate if they were featured on the training camp edition of the show, have a first-year head coach and have participated in the last 10 years.
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The Patriots are the only AFC East team that's eligible.
The other teams that are eligible are below, sorted by division:
AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals
AFC South: Houston Texans , Indianapolis Colts , Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West: Denver Broncos , Kansas City Chiefs
NFC North: Green Bay Packers , Minnesota Vikings
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles , Washington Commanders
NFC South: Carolina Panthers , New Orleans Saints , Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers , Seattle Seahawks
The Patriots have never been featured on "Hard Knocks," but will be a possibility for 2026. After a strong 2025 season under first-year coach Mike Vrabel that ended with a 14-3 record, AFC Championship and a Super Bowl 60 appearance, they would certainly be an interesting choice.
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The Chiefs would also be a good storyline. Patrick Mahomes is recovering from a torn ACL and his status for Week 1 is unknown. There's also questions surrounding Travis Kelce and whether he'll retire or return for for a 14th season.
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