Eric Christian Smith / Associated press
The NFL is reportedly heading towards zero preseason games for the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monday, ESPN Adam Schefter reported that the league had offered to skip preseason games this year as it negotiated with the Players Association over health and safety protocols and how to proceed in what promises to be be an unusual season during a pandemic.
Eliminating those preseason games that have no impact on the standings means players are less likely to pass the virus on to each other as the season approaches.
While preseason games are often listless, featuring major players going through the moves in limited action and vanilla calls with coaches hesitant to put anything of note on the film, they give to those who are on the sidelines to make the list an opportunity to make a final. print before the season.
An NFL owner said Judy Battista NFL.com’s “we can handle” when asked about the roster’s rating without preseason games.
It’s one of the many topics the league and players discussed on Monday as they work on final deals.
Battista reported players will be tested for COVID-19 daily for the first two weeks of training camp, which begins league-wide on July 28. From there, the positive test rate will be used to make a decision. If this rate is less than 5%, the tests will be taken every two days.
The league will also use contact tracing through proximity recording devices.
A desire for frequent testing was a major sticking point for gamers, many of whom taken to twitter Sunday to campaign for clearly defined health and safety measures.
The NFLPA released a statement regarding the COVID-19 testing agreement:
NFLPA @NFLPA
Our statement on Covid-19 testing procedures: https://t.co/6mYF3aK0jm
What else, Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network reported that the league offered its players a seven to 18-day acclimatization period upon arrival at training camp and an opt-out for those who preferred it.
Before sharing the news of the offer for matches without pre-season, Schefter quoted a league source who said the two sides “are getting closer to most if not all of the issues.”
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