Perhaps Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III knows something the rest of the football world does not.
Griffin tweeted, “Sources say there will be no preseason this year” on Tuesday. Is this foreshadowing an eventual announcement from the NFL?
Sources say there will be no preseason this year
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 7, 2020
The league already decided to cut the preseason in half earlier last week, eliminating Weeks 1 and 4 from the original preseason schedule.
Just two days after the announcement, however, the NFLPA voted to recommend playing zero preseason games (via Nick Shook of NFL.com):
The NFLPA board voted on a conference call this week in favor of not playing any preseason games ahead of the 2020 season, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Friday.
The vote came as a result of discussion within union leadership on whether it would be smart to play any preseason games, and after two days of time to mull the current situation regarding a return to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the board decided in favor of a longer runway for preparation for the NFL's regular season. The NFL, meanwhile, maintains a desire to trim the preseason schedule from four games to two in an effort to create a longer ramp-up period for players.
The NFL might look to institute some kind of preseason, but it might be a fruitless effort.
As Shook noted, there is still uncertainty regarding COVID-19. Additionally, several players have already suggested the preseason schedule is already too long, anyway. This includes Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff.
Regardless, there is not a ton of time to make a decision. Training camps begin in just a couple weeks, and the preseason is slated to begin a month later.
Unless, as Griffin seems to suggest, the NFL is planning to eliminate the preseason altogether.
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