The NFL and its owners are in the business of making money, even at the expense of player health, so its inevitable that there will eventually be a push to expand the regular season by another game, to 18 in total.
And there's the possibility that the NFL Players Association won't fight it tooth and nail despite expectations.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFLPA is "already bracing for" the owners to propose the 18-game schedule.
Per that report, "one of the things the NFLPA has to ponder is whether and to what extent the players want it.