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| The current logo and title card used for CBS Sports’ NFL broadcasts (2021-present). (YouTube) |
| ⏵ Wednesday, August 12, 2026
🟉 Highlights:
- Ahead of the network’s 67th NFL season, CBS Sports announces its 2026 NFL game and studio talent, with noteworthy changes, especially to the game crews.
- Three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt joins play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on the lead broadcast team, calling marquee matchups, a Thanksgiving Day game, and the AFC Postseason.
- Additionally, two-time Super Bowl champion Logan Ryan is promoted to full-time game analyst, working alongside Andrew Catalon and AJ Ross.
- Super Bowl XLVIII champion Robert Turbin joins CBS Sports’ NFL game analyst rotation for the first time, teaming up with Tom McCarthy & Tiffany Blackmon.
- Returning booths — Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, and Melanie Collins; Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, & Aditi Kinkhabwala
- The NFL Today cast welcomes three-time Pro Bowler Kyle Long and Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson to their team, alongside the returning cast members of James Brown, Nate Burleson, and Bill Cowher.
CBS Sports announced its NFL commentary roster for the 2026 season on Tuesday. We will soon preview their NFL team. Notably, lead commentator Tony Romo is on leave until further notice following a suspected OWI last month in Wisconsin. In his absence, CBS has promoted J.J. Watt, who called games with Ian Eagle in 2025, to the main commentary team alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson. This situation is why CBS delayed announcing their announcers by several weeks; they usually do this in late July or early August.
Broadcast Teams:
⮞ 1. Jim Nantz, JJ Watt, Tracy Wolfson
The lead voice of the NFL on CBS, Jim Nantz, enters his 23rd season as CBS’ top NFL announcer. However, following nearly a decade with Tony Romo, Nantz will have a new partner to co-exist with in 2026, as JJ Watt, who first joined CBS Sports in 2023 as studio analyst for The NFL Today before moving over to game coverage in 2025, joins the lead booth. Tracy Wolfson, going on Year #13 as the lead sideline reporter, will once again cover the sidelines.
Nantz, Watt, and Wolfson open the 2026 NFL season in Week 1 as Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings host Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, September 13 at 4:25 PM ET on CBS.
⮞ 2. Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker, Evan Washburn
Ian Eagle, who has called play-by-play for the NFL on CBS since 1998, starts his 29th season of NFL play-by-play duties with a new teammate in the broadcast booth as former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker becomes Eagle’s new colleague in the commentary booth. Tucker, who calls Eagles preseason games on local television and has called NFL on CBS games since 2023, is replacing J.J. Watt (who was promoted to lead analyst in Tony Romo’s absence). Evan Washburn once again roams the sidelines, entering his 13th season in that particular capacity.
In Week 1, Eagle, Tucker, and Washburn will be on-site at Reliant Stadium, as Dion Dawkins and the Buffalo Bills face off against Derek Stingley Jr. and the Houston Texans on Sunday, September 13 at 1:00 PM ET on CBS.
⮞ 3. Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins
One of the two returning NFL on CBS teams for the 2026 season consists of play-by-play man Kevin Harlan, former NFL quarterback Trent Green, and sideline reporter Melanie Collins. Harlan, Green, and Collins are slated to call games together for the seventh consecutive season (2020-present). Harlan starts his 29th year with CBS Sports, Green starts his 13th year with CBS, and Collins opens up her tenth season on the sidelines.
Harlan, Green, and Collins will provide commentary for the Cardinals-Chargers game in Week 1 (Sunday, September 13 at 4:25 PM ET on CBS).
⮞ 4. Andrew Catalon, Logan Ryan, AJ Ross
Veteran play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon returns for his 14th season of NFL on CBS play-by-play. Catalon is teamed up with a new analyst this year, two-time Super Bowl champion and former Patriots and Buccaneers defensive back Logan Ryan. Ryan is calling NFL games full-time for the first time ever. Reporter A.J. Ross returns for her eighth season with CBS Sports and is serving as the Catalon reporter for the fourth consecutive year.
Catalon, Ryan, and Ross start their 2026 campaign in Indianapolis as Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens visit Camryn Bynum and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 13 at 1:00 PM ET on CBS.
⮞ 5. Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala
The broadcast team of Spero Dedes (play-by-play), the No. 20 pick of the 2001 NFL Draft and former NFL safety Adam Archuleta (analyst), and Aditi Kinkhabwala returns for another campaign as a trio. Dedes, Archuleta, & Kinkhabwala first teamed up in 2023 and have worked together consistently since then, embarking on their fourth year together. Dedes & Archuleta start their seventh year together, as the two are in their second stint as a duo, working first between 2017-2019 and eventually reunited beginning in 2023.
This pairing will be in Nashville as the Jets square off against the Titans on Sunday, September 13 at 1:00 PM ET on CBS during Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
⮞ 6. Tom McCarthy, Robert Turbin, Tiffany Blackmon
Longtime CBS Sports announcer and current lead Philadelphia Phillies play-by-play broadcaster Tom McCarthy, in his 13th season with CBS Sports, is joined by newcomer and Super Bowl XLVII champion Robert Turbin as an analyst. Tiffany Blackmon handles the sideline duties for this team. Blackmon begins Year #4 with the NFL on CBS in 2026.
McCarthy, Turbin, & Blackmon get their 2026 schedule of games underway with Browns-Jaguars in Week 1 on Sunday, September 13 (1:00 PM ET).
⮞ 7. Chris Lewis, others TBD
TBD
Studio Coverage:
The NFL Today:
CBS will once again air an hour-long pregame show before live NFL game coverage every week called “The NFL Today”. This legendary pregame staple, which has been on the air since 1975, kicks off its 52nd season on Sunday, September 13.
The show will air weekly in this traditional 12:00 PM ET to 1:00 PM ET timeslot on Sunday afternoons.
Veteran sportscaster James Brown anchors the program, now in his 21st season at the helm of this iconic pregame show. Joining Brown are Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Cowher, starting his 20th season with the NFL Today, and Nate Burleson, back for his 10th season with the program. This year, “The NFL Today” is pleased to announce that Super Bowl XLVIII champion Russell Wilson and three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Kyle Long have joined Brown, Cowher, and Burleson on the main desk.
For a summary of CBS Sports’ 2026 NFL broadcast roster, please continue with the next section of this article.
2026 NFL on CBS Broadcasters:
Game Crews:
1. Jim Nantz/JJ Watt//Tracy Wolfson
2. Ian Eagle/Ross Tucker//Evan Washburn
3. Kevin Harlan/Trent Green//Melanie Collins
4. Andrew Catalon/Logan Ryan//AJ Ross
5. Spero Dedes/Adam Archuleta//Aditi Kinkhabwala
6. Tom McCarthy/Robert Turbin//Tiffany Blackmon
7. Chris Lewis/others TBD
Studio Team (“The NFL Today” — Sundays, 12:00 PM ET to 1:00 PM ET on CBS):
James Brown (host), Bill Cowher (analyst), Nate Burleson (analyst), Kyle Long (analyst), & Russell Wilson (analyst)
Rules Analyst:
Gene Steratore
You can check out this link for the full 2026 NFL on CBS broadcast schedule.
|| ■ 🛈 Sources: Awful Announcing (other sources to be added later) ||
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