The NFLPA membership voted in a conference call this week in favor of not playing any preseason games before the 2020 season, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported Friday.
The vote came as a result of a discussion within the union leadership about whether it would be smart to play some preseason game, and after two days of time to reflect on the current situation regarding returning to work amid the COVID pandemic- 19, the players decided in favor of a longer track for preparation for the NFL regular season. Meanwhile, the NFL maintains a desire to cut the preseason schedule from four games to two in an effort to create a longer acceleration period for players.
The league believes it is correct within the current collective bargaining agreement to set the preseason schedule, according to Garafolo.
“It is clear that the union and the league are not on the same page regarding the duration of the preseason at this time,” Garafolo said during his report on NFL NOW.
Training camps will begin in late July, and this week the NFLPA presented a possible four-stage protocol plan for a single preparation period that would replace the preseason.
The first stage would be medical exams for all players by showing up at camp, which would last three days, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. The following 21 days would constitute the second stage, a strength and conditioning program to prepare the bodies of the players for a return to football activity. From there, the teams would go on to a third stage that would resemble OTAs in which players would participate in 10 days of contactless and fill-in practices before finally moving on to a fourth 14-day stage that would focus on what that the camp traditionally looks. As, with potentially 10 total practices with a maximum of eight padded practices.
That 48-day total would immediately precede Week 1, replacing the preseason games with the longest preparation period desired by the NFLPA.
Players are understandably concerned about the safety of operating as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in many areas of the country.
“The players who have told me are expressing a number of concerns about this call,” Garafolo said during an earlier report on NFL NOW. “No less important is if there is so much concern about this virus right now, why are we going back to work, period? And I was told that one of the medical experts said that that is something you will have to decide on an individual basis. Basically, “Some players will choose not to participate based on risk factors and how they feel about themselves and their family? So that’s something to see in the future.”
As with everything, this is still a developing situation. For now, however, we will continue to wait for a final decision on the preseason.
