Some NFL teams in favor of delaying the start of the regular season
The Bengals' 2020 season is scheduled to kickoff in 90 days. Cincinnati is starting the year at home for just the third time since 2009.
There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the start of the 2020 regular season due to COVID-19. All 32 NFL teams have been able to navigate the virtual offseason thus far, but the remaining steps are the hardest.
Some teams think it might be best to delay the start of the regular season according to SI's Albert Breer.
"The other option would be to delay the start of the season. I can say definitively there are teams in favor of that, to allow for more information gathering and caution," Breer wrote. "The league office, for its part, has pushed back on that idea and wants the season to start on time. And I’ve heard report dates of July 13 and July 20 floated (though, to be clear, the league and union haven't even gotten to the point yet where an actual date has been proposed to the players), though I’m skeptical that new NFLPA president J.C. Tretter would sign off on it. 'We would have no interest in that,' said one source."
Delaying the start of the season is one of the many options on the table. The NFL would love to start on time, which is why they held the first ever virtual draft. They've taken drastic steps in hopes of keeping everyone on schedule.
Another option would be to cancel two of the four preseason games. The NFL and the NFLPA joint committee on health-and-safety recommended extending the new five-day training-camp acclimation period. Instead of playing four exhibition contests, players would use the extra time to adjust to training camp — which is going to look a lot different than it normally does.
The NFL and the NFLPA have to come together and make a decision about training camp and the start of the regular season within the next few weeks. Hopefully they can find a way to start on time, while also keeping players and coaches safe.
