Earlier this week, the NFL decided to shorten its preseason from four weeks to two to explain the coronavirus pandemic and the ways it is affecting the league’s ability to start the season. But NFL players don’t believe that move has gone far enough.
A source from the NFL Players Association said Friday that the union’s board of player representatives had voted to recommend removing all 2020 preseason games. The matter was voted on during Thursday night’s conference call with NFLPA player representatives, and the source said the vote was unanimous.
It is unclear whether the NFL will consider the players’ recommendation. The league has yet to formally announce the preseason reduction from four games to two, though a source told ESPN’s Kevin Seifert on Wednesday that the decision had been made.
The league doesn’t think it needs union approval to set its preseason schedule, though the players will argue that the pandemic-induced work rule changes allow them the right to participate in the decision.
Training camps for most NFL teams will begin July 28, just a few weeks away, and the league and union are still finalizing health and safety protocols to protect players and staff from the computer virus. Many of those protocols were discussed in the Thursday night call with player representatives and union medical director Thom Mayer. They range from newly designed protective masks to reduced sizes of training camp lists and possible fines for players who spread the virus after circulating in public outside the team’s facilities.
Sources familiar with the content of Thursday’s call said players had many unanswered questions about how they can safely re-practice and play. The NFL has so far maintained that it plans to start camp and the regular season on time.
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