Shortening Preseason May be Sign of Bigger Problems Ahead for NFL

It’s been business as usual for the NFL even as society frays at the seams and a nation was shuttered due to a pandemic.

There’s has really been the only sport unaffected, unless you count the virtual workout programs that have been in place since teams had to close their facilities, like the Eagles did on March 13.

There hasn’t been any disruption of the NFL’s season like there was in the other three pro sports of MLB, NBA, and NHL.

That may now be changing.

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday that the league and the NFL Players Association are talking about taking two games away from the preseason schedule, reducing it from four to two games.

Nobody but NFL owners and roster bubble players like preseason games, so nobody is going to throw their arms up over the potential deletion of two of them.

There could be something more at work here, however. This could be a chink in the armor that so far has been impervious to the slings and arrows of current events.

Once games start coming off the schedule, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, it stands to reason that it could just be the start of something bigger.

It is fair to wonder if this isn't the beginning of the NFL considering delaying the start of its regular-season schedule.

The coronavirus hasn’t gone away. In fact, it is surging in some states.

The NFL is hoping to start training camps on time at the end of July.

Time will tell if that is actually going to happen.

There had been some talk about slowly bringing players back 10 to 15 at a time, which would mean starting the return process roughly two weeks prior to training camp opening.

The NFLPA, however, could be counseling its players not to return early because there is still too much unknown about the virus.

The reason, per Pelissero, for shrinking the preseason schedule has nothing to do with the uncertainty, and the league isn't yet thinking about taking a bite out of the first few weeks of the regular season.

It would be done only to allow players more time to prepare their bodies for the physical demands of football. The extra time would also allow the league’s medical experts more time to refine safety and testing protocols for COVID-19.

"None of this has to do with when the regular season would begin,” said Pelissero on NFL Now. “This is strictly about the preseason, having the testing protocols, the game day protocols, all up to speed.”

Pelissero referred back to 2011 when players returned from the lockout and there was a rash of injuries, such as hamstrings and Achilles. Some players returned and weren’t in the best of shape.

"That's why there've been ongoing discussions between the NFL and NFLPA about having some kind of ramp-up period, perhaps having one week of Phase 1, normally in the spring,” said Pelissero. “Then a week of Phase 2 before the players even get on the field in a practice setting. If you just do the math there, and that doesn't start until the last week of July, it becomes really difficult to go from just doing basically strength and conditioning to playing in a game-setting in a matter of weeks."

The NFL is set to open on Sept. 10 with a Thursday night game between the Chiefs and Texans, with a full slate of games set for Sept. 13 and two Monday night games on Sept. 14.

So far that plans still holds but canceling two preseason games could just be the top of a larger iceberg.

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