Will the labor issues be settled in time for the NFL preseason to start the week of Aug. 8? My hunch is yes.

Of course, anything could happen between now and then. Come August or September the situation could still be in the court system.

But it’s encouraging that both sides will return to the mediation table on Thursday. Both sides are still waiting to see if Judge Susan Nelson will lift the NFL’s lockout of the players.

Despite all that, the Lions released their preseason schedule today (Tuesday).

The highlight is a nationally televised preseason game against the New England Patriots at Ford Field on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. The game will air on CBS, but will be subject to a local blackout. The Lions haven’t played the Patriots in the preseason since 2000.

The Lions will open the preseason against Cincinnati at Ford Field (Aug. 11-15).

They will visit the Cleveland Browns Aug. 18-22 and will wrap up the preseason schedule in Buffalo Sept. 1-2.

Additional dates and times and individual game ticket information for Lions preseason home games will be announced at a later time.

Expect the full regular season schedule to be released before the draft. Possibly it will happen the week of the draft (April 28-30) which is when it was released a year ago

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)