The NFL owners apparently would like a two-game preseason. Coaches, of course, would prefer four games.
The players? According to ESPN, the NFLPA's board of union reps voted late Thursday night to have no preseason games in 2020. According to the report, the vote was unanimous.
Though reports surfaced earlier this week the league was going to trim the preseason from four to two games, the NFL has yet to make any announcements about preseason games outside of canceling the Hall of Fame game Aug. 6.
The Steelers were to have played the Cowboys in that game.
Part of the reason why the NFL hasn't announced anything as of yet could be because it was waiting to see what the NFLPA wanted to do. Now, the league will be forced to negotiate the two-game preseason unless it decides to side with the players association on the subject.
But that could get sticky with coaches, who want as many preseason games as possible to ready their teams for the upcoming season -- especially since the entire offseason programs were canceled across the league.
Most NFL teams are expected to report to training camp -- at their team facilities -- July 28, though the league has not officially announced that date, either.
The NFL and NFLPA continue to negotiate safety provisions involved with their return to practice facilities and for games. Many of those protocols were discussed Thursday night in a call that involved the player reps for all 32 NFL teams.
Cam Heyward is now the Steelers' player rep after the retirement of Ramon Foster.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
This could be posturing on the part of the union, which might want some concessions from the league on playing preseason games.
That could include more money and or guarantees on how many players will be in camps. There's a lot to be hashed out on this.
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