Detroit Lions players are no strangers to the demands of the NFL calendar, regularly giving up their Thanksgiving Day to kick off the holiday’s lineup of games.

But veteran lineman Dan Skipper believes the league has gone too far with its international expansion. The offensive tackle took aim at the NFL, criticizing the burden international trips place on players and calling the league’s push overseas a “joke.”

While appearing on The Coaches Pod, Skipper said the NFL seems unaware — or unconcerned — about the toll these global games take. He emphasized the complexity of these trips, questioning the randomness of where games are being held.

“That’s a joke. ‘Hey, let’s go play in whatever country,’ throw a dart at the map. Like, really?” Skipper said. “The NFL knows how complex this is. We’ve got a 200-person travel group, and 50 of them are putting their bodies through the most intense physical task there is — but you cram us onto a plane for 18 hours, mess with our body clocks, bring us to a country where the food’s all (expletive), make us play, then fly us back, and we lose our bye week over it.”

The Lions have had their share of issues with overseas scheduling. In 2011, NFL owners approved games in the U.K. through 2016, with a rule that visiting teams wouldn’t play there more than once every five years.

Yet that guideline seemed to be ignored when the league had the Lions travel to London in both 2014 and 2015. The Lions haven’t played outside the U.S. since those games.

Just this week, the NFL revealed a lineup of international games for the 2024 season, beginning with the Chargers facing the Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 5. There are also games set in Dublin, Ireland; London, U.K.; Berlin, Germany; and Madrid, Spain.

Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive VP for international operations, told NFL.com that the growing number of overseas games shows the league’s “united commitment to global expansion as we work to evolve into a worldwide sport.”

Skipper isn’t the only one speaking out. Steelers Depot reporter Matthew Marczi slammed Pittsburgh’s travel plan to fly to Ireland just days before game time.

Marczi pointed out that Steelers players voiced frustration with a similar itinerary in 2013, when they flew to London for a matchup with the Vikings.

“In 2013, the Vikings arrived in London on Monday to get ready for the Steelers,” Marczi wrote. “Pittsburgh didn’t fly out until Thursday and plans to repeat that for the Ireland game.

“If they do, they risk an embarrassing performance in the Rooneys’ homeland. Jet lag and adapting to a new setting are real concerns.”