The late, great Mitch Hedberg had a joke: “Last week, I helped my friend stay put. It’s a lot easier than helping someone move.” And on Tuesday, Mitch’s profound wisdom echoed throughout State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
While the official schedule for the 2025 NFL Season won’t arrive until tomorrow (May 14), the Arizona Cardinals got some good news, especially regarding their playoff hopes. Because Mitch is right: it’s easier to stay put than it is to move, especially if you’re in the highly competitive NFC West.
The Arizona Cardinals will travel the least miles in the NFC West in 2025
Mo’ Miles, Mo’ Problems
The Arizona Cardinals will reportedly travel less this upcoming season than their division rivals, according to a graphic shared by ESPN's Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter (citing Bookies’ Senior Betting Analyst Bill Speros). Schefter wrote how “thirty-two NFL teams will travel 625,947 miles this season.”
Thirty-two NFL teams will travel 625,947 miles this season. Here is the breakdown, via @billsperos: pic.twitter.com/WJ2sU5hrVG
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 13, 2025
Thankfully, the Cardinals will only travel 20,335 of those 625k miles. It’s not the least in the league—that honor goes to the Cincinnati Bengals. But it’s the least in the NFC West.
The Los Angeles Rams will travel 34,832 miles this season, the second-most in the league (behind the Los Angeles Chargers, who will clock in just over 37k miles). The Seattle Seahawks are behind the Rams with 31,302 miles. And two spaces down, the San Francisco 49ers will log 28,363 miles.
The Rams, Seahawks and 49ers will also travel more miles than it takes to go around the world.
No Passport Required
The NFL continues to branch beyond its borders, and the league announced its International Games schedule on May 13.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland on Sept. 28. The Vikings will then play the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, England on Oct. 5. The New York Jets will play the Denver Broncos on Oct. 12, also at Tottenham, while the Jacksonville Jaguars will play the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 19.
The Indianapolis Colts will play the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 9, while the Miami Dolphins will play the Washington Commanders at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid C.F., in the NFL’s first regular season game in Spain.
The Cardinals dodged a travel bullet—as well as let jag and customs headaches—by not having an international game this year.
Home Sweet Home
What’s the advantage/disadvantage of travel with teams? Scientifically, Yahoo Sportsreported in 2015 that a study in the journal Sleep analyzed night games between 1970 and 2011, showing that West Coast teams succeeded because the games started at or near their peak performance. The study said they struggled with 1 pm start times on the East Coast.
However, there’s nothing incredibly conclusive—and you know that certain teams’ owners would sue if there were—about how much teams travel. But if you have ever gone cross-country, you know how disruptive it can be. You’re not in your bed. You have to deal with uncomfortable seats. You feel exhausted afterwards.
Imagine you’re trying to win a division against two aggressive rivals who stocked up during the 2025 NFL Draft (and a struggling team that might pull off some surprises). The last thing you want to deal with is jetlag, time zones, and messed-up sleep schedules.
The Cardinals will have 14k fewer travel miles to worry about, giving them extra time to prepare for their opponents.