The general expectation of late has been that the NFL will ultimately be cutting its preseason in half, but the NFLPA has yet to sign off on that idea.
According to Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, some in union leadership are questioning if it’s smart for the league to play any preseason games this year. The board of reps will hold a call on Thursday.
While the expectation for weeks has been the NFL goes to two preseason games, the NFLPA hasn’t signed off. and some in union leadership continue to question whether it’s smart to play ANY preseason games, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. Board of reps call Thursday. Stay tuned.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 1, 2020
The four-game preseason has long been a topic of discussion. For years, fans, analysts and even players have suggested trimming the exhibition games in order to guard against injuries.
Of course, this year, things are quite a bit different due to the coronavirus pandemic, so there is even more motivation to shorten—or potentially even eliminate—the preseason in 2020.
What kinds of ramifications this could have on the future of the NFL remains to be seen.
While it seems entirely possible for the league to get rid of the 2020 preseason altogether, it seems doubtful that that is something that could catch on in the years to come.
If anything, the league will cut the preseason to two contests in 2021 and beyond. But obviously, that is not the current talking point. This is about whether it is safe or not for football to play exhibition games given the current circumstances.
The 2020 NFL campaign is still on track to begin at its scheduled time in September, although it is not yet known if fans will be permitted to attend the games. It’s also still up in the air if we will even have a full 16-game regular season.
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