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Forget a partial NFL preseason, how about no NFL preseason at all?
It’s been reported that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league intended to only have two preseason games played. No official announcement had been made by the league yet, and that’s because the NFLPA isn’t on board with this idea.
The NFLPA membership unanimously voted in favor of no preseason at all, instead providing this potential alternative according to Tom Pelissero.
With the NFLPA still opposed to preseason games, one possible camp schedule the union has discussed:
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 3, 2020
3 days: medical/equipment
21 days: strength & conditioning
10 days: unpadded practice
14 days: practice (10 max/8 padded)
Then it’d be straight into Week 1.
Understandably so, there’s been no proper mini-camp, OTAs, and other traditional offseason workouts, yet the league still plans on having training camps begin as normal starting July 28th. All of what’s transpired has a heavy impact on rookies and especially undrafted free agents who are looking to make the team.
I thought there were 6 players in the Seahawks' UDFA class who could make a good push to make the final roster, so no preseason would be a bummer from that standpoint. Hopefully expanded practice squads will allow for a few of the higher upside guys to stick around, at least https://t.co/RGHWkxrV65
— Alistair Corp (@byalistaircorp) July 3, 2020
The league has also reportedly explored reducing training camp rosters, and who knows what rule changes we’ll see for regular season play... if there’s a regular season.
Now getting back to the idea of no preseason, just because the NFLPA voted for this doesn’t mean it’ll actually happen. The league and its owners would have to put this under consideration and sign off on it. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s still the “opt out” (like we’re seeing in the NBA and MLB) to work out between the two parties.
The NFL and NFLPA also are working on the rules that would govern any players' decisions to opt out of playing the upcoming season.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) July 3, 2020
Where do we go from here? Stay tuned. There’s a lot to figure out, all while the United States continues to struggle with soaring cases around the country.