Since the prospect of playing the 2020 NFL season without any fans in attendance has become a real one, networks are planning on doing what they can to produce their own crowd noise to their broadcasts. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford feels this will be nothing new for many teams.

According to David Lombardi of The Athletic, Ford gave his thoughts on the idea of pumping in crowd noise and adding virtual crowds to empty stadiums:

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that a couple teams already have that goin’ on, so they won’t have any issues with it.”

The restrictions placed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced teams to take unprecedented action this offseason leading up to the 2020 campaign. It seems that networks are now preparing to do the same in the event that fans are not allowed to be in the stadium.

FOX play-by-play guy Joe Buck was the one that initially revealed their willingness to create the ambiance of a normal game. Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not this will pertain to the ebbs and flows of the game. If they plan on adding virtual cheers, they may need to also include boos if the home team is not performing well in order to maintain authenticity.

Regardless, Ford is more concerned with making a full recovery from extensive knee surgery this offseason after dealing with lingering tendinitis during the 2019 campaign. He finished the season with 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 11 games while playing an average of just 21.9 snaps per game.