CBS has finalized its NFL announcer shakeup, and YouTube has reportedly found its analyst for Chiefs-Chargers in Week 1.
CBS NFL analyst Charles Davis is moving into the analyst spot previously held by Tiki Barber on the network’s NFL depth chart. Davis, who had previously been on the #2 CBS NFL team alongside Ian Eagle, will shift to the network’s lead college football team next season upon the retirement of Gary Danielson.
In the meantime, he will remain on NFL broadcasts alongside play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon, analyst Jason McCourty and reporter AJ Ross. Barber will move to the pregame and postgame shows surrounding New York Giants radio broadcasts on WFAN under an extension of the play-by-play partnership between the station and the franchise, marking the end of his CBS tenure.
As previously announced, Davis’ replacement on the #2 team is J.J. Watt — who in his third season working with CBS is moving from the studio to the broadcast booth. Watt will work alongside the returning Ian Eagle and Evan Washburn.
Outside of Watt’s departure, The NFL Today is retaining its cast of host James Brown with analysts Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher and Matt Ryan.
The remainder of the broadcast lineup largely remains the same, with the lead team of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson working together for a ninth season. Kevin Harlan will continue to work with Trent Green and Melanie Collins and Spero Dedes with Adam Archuleta and Aditi Kinkhabwala.
The pairing of Tom McCarthy and Ross Tucker returns for a second consecutive season, but without Jay Feely, who departed the company in the offseason. The pair will instead be joined by a rotation of sideline reporters.
In other NFL broadcasting news, NFL Network and Westwood One analyst Kurt Warner will reportedly serve as the lead game analyst for YouTube’s exclusive presentation of the Week 1 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
With slightly more than a month to go until kickoff from São Paulo, Brazil, YouTube is reportedly still looking for a play-by-play announcer to call the action. Marchand reported later Monday that Rich Eisen “emerged as the leading play-by-play candidate” for the game.
NBC will be handling production for the game for a fee, although Marchand noted that networks have “been more hesitant to help out the streamers.”
That extends to the NFL Christmas Day doubleheader on Netflix, though Burleson and Ryan are reportedly in the mix for the broadcast. CBS Sports produced the NFL Christmas Day games last year while NFL Media was responsible for production of pregame, halftime and postgame studio programming. Marchand previously reported that Drew Brees will be returning to Netflix to serve as a game analyst for the coverage after he had previously worked on the pregame show and international broadcast last season.
