Unlike Major League Baseball, the NHL and NBA, the NFL has been able to sit back and see what the other professional sports organizations do as it pertains to their return-to-play plans.
The NHL and NBA are going the "bubble" route, having their players in hub cities, keeping them isolated to help limit potential infection of the coronavirus. MLB is hoping to have players travel for their 60-game regular season, but it is highly unlikely fans will be watching from the stands.
While the NFL has had the luxury of waiting, that luxury is quickly coming to an end, with training camps slated to begin on, or around, July 28. Earlier this week, reports circulated that the NFL planned to cut the preseason schedule from four games to two. But the NFLPA essentially told the league to pump the brakes on any sweeping changes to the preseason.
What could still change? Going from four to two games seems reasonable, but the Players Association reportedly wants to eliminate the preseason entirely. Instead, it wants a return-to-play protocol put in place which will slowly ramp up to Week 1.
What will this plan look like? This, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network:
With the NFLPA still opposed to preseason games, one possible camp schedule the union has discussed:
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.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 3, 2020
Looking at such sweeping changes might make sense from a health standpoint, but you can only imagine what coaches are thinking with no preseason games or scrimmages to prepare their teams for a real game.
Dan Graziano of ESPN talks about how the players don't want a preseason, but the league might not agree. In other words, this will have to be settled by both parties before anything can move forward.
On Thursday night’s NFLPA call, the union’s board of reps voted unanimously to recommend that the NFL play no preseason games this year. It’s unclear whether the league, which has already decided to cut the preseason from four games to two, will consider the recommendation.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 3, 2020
During Mike Tomlin's press conference last week, he was asked about how he felt about his ability to prepare his team for live game action. He response was candid, to say the least.
"I’m not comfortable, but I imagine none of my peers are comfortable either, so I’m comfortable with that. Physical conditioning is going to be a significant element of this process. It’s going to define their journey and ours, collectively. Those that are communal conditioners are working at a disadvantage in this 2020 environment. Those that are new to professional football and what’s really physically required of them through the evaluation process are working at a distinct advantage. We talk openly about that elephant in the room. It doesn’t lessen the anxiety. Man, we'd better have a group of guys that come ready to work from a physical-conditioning standpoint, and if we do, we will be able to navigate the other challenges. If we don’t, all the other challenges are going to be magnified. That is a true statement for us and the other 31 [teams] as well."
As cases of COVID-19 skyrocket, players are skeptical about the league's ability to keep them, and their families, safe. The NFL and NFLPA still have a lot of wrinkles to iron out before a deal is in place.
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