Will Well-Traveled Seahawks Be at Disadvantage in this Unique Season?

Due to their location in the Pacific Northwest, the Seahawks typically rank among the league's leaders in miles traveled each season. But this year, those frequent flyer miles could pose a major threat to the team given circumstances in a pandemic.

For the past four months, less and less people have traveled, causing planes to fly nearly empty and airports to look like ghost towns.

Of course, the reason is a good one with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as many have chosen not to fly or are asked not to travel unless necessary to abate the virus. 

The NFL is still planning on having a season and has opted to not have a "bubble" environment like the MLS, NBA, and NHL have chosen to do. The NFL will have teams travel to opposing cities as normal when (and if) the season kicks off, much like what Major League Baseball will attempt when their shortened season kicks off next week.

For east coast teams, that should not be much of an issue. They could play nearly their entire schedule without crossing west of the Mississippi River. But the Seahawks do not have that luxury, tucked away in the corner of the Pacific Northwest. 

When the NFL released the schedule for the 2020 season, it became apparent that the Seahawks would be well-traveled. Totaling the miles each team will travel for its respective road games this season, the Seahawks will travel a whopping 28,982 miles, including five trips of at least 2,000 miles. 

The next closest team? The Chargers at just over 22,000 miles. 

For reference, the Baltimore Ravens will travel the fewest miles in the league, totaling just 6,420. Seattle will make a trip to Miami in Week 4, which is over 5,000 miles round trip by itself. The Seahawks will travel more than the the four teams in the AFC North combined! 

During this time of the coronavirus pandemic, clearly the risk increases the more one travels. Are the Seahawks at a distinct disadvantage this season due to the many long roads trips on their schedule?

Seattle leading the NFL in frequent flyer miles is nothing new. You won't hear the team complain much. However, this is a unique time with a unique set of circumstances. Granted, the team flies on their own plane and they won't be rubbing elbows with John and Jane Q. Flyer. However, with traveling to a new city, staying in different hotels, eating different foods, the risk and exposure increases with every trip.

It seems as if Seattle is more at risk to encounter the virus during travel than any other team in the NFL. There is a possibility that after several east coast trips, one of the team's stars such as a Russell Wilson or DK Metcalf will contract the virus and miss several key games. 

Thus is the nature of being a team so far removed from any other team in the league. The closest team geographically is the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, over 800 miles south of Seattle. For reference, 800 miles on the east coast gets you from New York City to nearly Atlanta, Georgia.

The coronavirus has created such a delicate, fragile environment for sports that can bring it all crashing down rapidly. All it takes is one contaminated hotel, one plane ride with a player who unknowingly contracted the virus, and an entire team could be crippled with an outbreak. Traveling just offers more opportunities for these unfortunate possibilities and the Seahawks will be exposed to that more than any other team.