Unlike Major League Baseball, the NHL and NBA, the NFL has been able to sit back and see what the other professional sports organizations do as it pertains to their return-to-play plans.
The NHL and NBA are going the "bubble" route, having their players in hub cities, keeping them isolated to help limit potential infection of the coronavirus. MLB is hoping to have players travel for their 60-game regular season, but it is highly unlikely fans will be watching from the stands.
While the NFL has had the luxury of waiting, that luxury is quickly coming to an end, with training camps slated to begin on, or around, July 28. Earlier this week, reports circulated that the NFL planned to cut the preseason schedule from four games to two. But the NFLPA essentially told the league to pump the brakes on any sweeping changes to the preseason.
What could still change? Going from four to two games seems reasonable, but the Players Association reportedly wants to eliminate the preseason entirely. Instead, it wants a return-to-play protocol put in place which will slowly ramp up to Week 1.
What will this plan look like? This, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network:
With the NFLPA still opposed to preseason games, one possible camp schedule the union has discussed:
3 days: medical/equipment
21 days: strength & conditioning
10 days: unpadded practice
14 days: practice (10 max/8 padded)
Then it’d be straight into Week 1.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 3, 2020
On Thursday night’s NFLPA call, the union’s board of reps voted unanimously to recommend that the NFL play no preseason games this year. It’s unclear whether the league, which has already decided to cut the preseason from four games to two, will consider the recommendation.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 3, 2020
