Report: NFLPA Reps Vote to Recommend No Preseason Games for 2020
This week, the National Football League Players Association's group of representatives reportedly voted within the union to recommend for the league to hold no preseason games ahead of the 2020 NFL season. This comes two days after plans were released that the the preseason would be split from four games to two in August.
The NFLPA held and passed the vote after two days of discussion concerning the preparation time for players amid the COVID-19 pandemic and what would give them the most time to safely work through training camp, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, the vote was unanimous.
Training camps league-wide and for the Jacksonville Jaguars are scheduled to begin in late July. The NFLPA has proposed a four-stage plan that would eliminate all preseason games and cover 48 days in a run-up to Week 1 of the regular season, NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero has reported.
Stage one would reportedly be three days for medical and equipment evaluation which would include physicals for every player. The second stage is 21 days for strength and conditioning, working players back into football shape after an offseason that has kept many of them from the normal facility gyms, Pelissero tweeted Friday.
Stage three would be 10 days of a quasi OTA with no-contact, no-padded practices. Finally, the fourth stage would be two weeks (14 days) of a "normal" camp with eight padded practices.
Considering reports stating the league office wants to play two preseason games, it appears as if the league and the players union are at an impasse which will have to be cleared much sooner than later.
The Jaguars have been originally scheduled to play their preseason games against the Carolina Panthers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons. With the current NFL plan to cut the preseason in half, the Jaguars will drop the games against the Panthers and Falcons respectively. If the league agrees to the union's vote and all four games are scrapped, the Jaguars will first take the field at home against the Indianapolis Colts on September 13.
The preseason has long been a point of debate given that it provides little help to the primary roster players and if anything only increases the likelihood of injury. However, it is also one of the best shots for late-round draft picks and free agents to impress the coaches and make the roster.
This is a developing situation that would action from both sides. Stick with Jaguar Report for the latest information as it affects both the entirety of the NFL and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
