Patriots Will Not Be Playing In Germany In 2022
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The New England Patriots may play overseas during the 2022 season. But it will not be in Germany.
On Monday, the NFL announced the five teams that will be hosting the league's international games in 2022. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will "host" the NFL's first game in Germany, which will take place at Allianz Arena in Munich.
While it had been heavily speculated that New England would be participating in that game, especially when the team was granted marketing rights in Germany in December, the Patriots will not be making the trip to Munich, considering the Buccaneers are not on their schedule for 2022. (The Patriots faced the Bucs in 2021 at Gillette Stadium, which saw Tom Brady make his return to Foxboro.)
But just because they won't be heading to Munich doesn't mean the Patriots won't play an international game in 2022. New England is set to visit both the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals, and both were part of the NFL's announcement on Monday. The Packers will host one of the league's three games in London, while the Cardinals will host a game in Mexico.
So the Patriots might head overseas sometime during the 2022 season. It just won't be to Germany, which must be a pretty big bummer for fullback/Stuttgart native Jakob Johnson.
The last time the Patriots played in an international game was in 2017, when they beat the Oakland Raiders 33-8 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. New England has also made two trips across the pond and won both of those games: A 35-7 win over the Buccaneers in 2009 and a 45-7 victory over the St. Louis Rams in 2012 -- both at Wembley Stadium in London.
