Currently, the NFL is on track to begin the 2020 season on schedule and play it out to completion. That does not mean that things can't change. And according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt wants the league to remain cautious and flexible about a starting date.
Said Watt:
“The last thing that we want as players is for this report date to be set in stone and for us to be bumping up against this report date and then we hastily put things together just because we want to make sure that report date is met … I think the most important thing for us is getting everything right so that everybody feels as safe as possible, as comfortable as possible with what we’re gonna do. Whether that is on the report date, whether that’s pushed back, whatever it may be. But I just don’t want us to get into a situation where we bump up this report date and we say oh no now we gotta figure it out. That’s where you get into trouble.”
The NFL is one of the few leagues that has not had their regular season disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic yet. However, that does not mean it has not been affected. The 2020 draft was conducted virtually, teams like the Texans have conducted all offseason meetings virtually and it's not likely there will be many or any fans in the stands when the games start.
Watt is advising that the NFL does not try to rush anything. The focus should be on the safety of the players. And this is extremely important because if teams suddenly start having COVID-19 outbreaks, it could put the entire season in jeopardy.
Watt's warning to the NFL is twofold. He wants the players to be safe. But he also wants the NFL to know what it is doing regarding health and safety protocols before committing to any particular dates.
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