The games must go on. At least that's the plan for now for the NFL.
NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said Tuesday on a conference call that the league is planning for a full season in 2020 despite the country -- and world -- currently being shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“That’s my expectation,” Pash told reporters. “Am I certain? I’m not certain I will be here tomorrow. But I’m planning on it, and I’m planning on a full season.”
The NFL thus far has not pushed back any of its scheduled events, but the league is the only one of the four major North American leagues that is currently not in season.
The NBA and NHL suspended play last month, while Major League Baseball ceased its Spring Training and delayed the start of its regular season, which would have begun last week.
The NFL isn't scheduled to start its regular season until September. But training camps open in late July with preseason games being held in August.
"I think what the doctors are looking at are models that address the effectiveness of different kinds of interventions, on how the curve has trended down and tailed off in other countries, and what they believe will be the result based on the modeling that’s been done in this country," Pash said.
“Keeping in mind that we’re still in March, so there are quite a few months between now and when our season would begin, the belief and the information that we have is leading us to continue to focus on having the season start on time and be played in a normal way."
The league did cancel its spring meetings, which would have taken place this week, but kept the start of the new league year in place earlier this month. The NFL also hasn't pushed back the date of its draft. That is remains scheduled to be held April 23 through 25.
What is in jeopardy are any offseason programs. Teams have already pushed back the start of their OTAs, while rookie minicamps and then the final phase of OTAs start after the draft.
Pash said the league is working on coming up with plans for "virtual OTAs," that will allow players to learn playbooks and work out as prescribed by teams.
At this point, everything is on the table as the league deals with rules in place to stop the spread of the illness prior to the start of the regular season.
“All of our discussions, all of our focus has been on a normal, traditional season, starting on time, playing in front of fans, in our regular stadiums," Pash said.
The Steelers are set to open training camp at Saint Vincent College sometime around July 23. They are scheduled to play the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game, which opens the preseason Thursday, Aug. 6.
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