Raiders owner Mark Davis has become officially dishonest. In May, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent out a memo asking each of the league’s 32 owners not to comment or speculate on how the 2020 season might play out. Davis apparently did not receive that memo. Or he decided to ignore it because the owner of the Raiders offered some interesting speculation on what the year could be like. During an interview with ESPN.com, Davis revealed that he believes there is still a chance that the 2020 season may be canceled entirely, which is an option the league has never publicly mentioned.
According to Davis, the NFL basically has three options for next season. Through ESPN, here are those options:
1. Carry on as planned, with teams reporting to boot camp next week, and see what happens.
2. Delay the start of the season until November and go to a 12-game season, canceling each team’s four interconference games (AFC vs. NFC).
3. Cancel the 2020 season entirely.
Obviously, it will all come down to whether or not NFL players can avoid the coronavirus, which is why Davis doesn’t seem entirely convinced that a season is going to happen.
“I don’t even know if it’s safe to play. ‘Uncertainty’ is the word,” Davis said. “Everything is in the air with the virus and how it will affect our league and season.”
One thing that is not clear is whether Davis was sharing his own personal opinion or whether the three options were an informed opinion based on conversations he had with the NFL and the other owners of the league (the NFL has had several teleconferences with the owners this season to try). and find out the logistics for the season). If Davis’s opinion is based on the conversations from those conference calls, it could have revealed just how awkward everyone in the league is for trying to make a season.
Of the three options listed, the NFL is definitely trying to achieve option one right now, which is “Have everyone report to training camp and see what happens.”
The league has been working closely with the NFLPA for the past few days to find the answers to the multiple pandemic-related questions. The NFLPA wanted daily tests and zero preseason games, and will get both after the NFL accepted the demands this week.
Of course, one question that has yet to be answered is what will happen if there is a full outbreak of the virus towards the end of training camp or during the season. Based on Davis’ roster, it appears that the league would simply cancel each team’s four inter-conference games and then try to play the other 12. The NFL also has several contingency plans built into the schedule. For example, in Weeks 3 or 4, zero divisional games are played, which means that if the worst becomes worse, those two weeks are likely to be cut off from the schedule.
If Option 2 doesn’t work things out, Davis seems to think he’ll take us to the NFL version of Def Con 1 – a full season cancellation. If Davis still sees this as an option, other homeowners may well be considering it as well.
Although canceling the season is a drastic option, it definitely doesn’t seem like an option the NFL is thinking about right now. In fact, based on what’s happened in the past few days, the NFL probably feels better than ever before celebrating a season. Players clearly want to play, and since the NFL has been meeting most of its virus-related demands, everyone has agreed to show up for training camp, which means as long as there is no gigantic outbreak among NFL teams, There is a very likely that we will see a regular season this year. While there are still a few details that need to be worked out, such as how an opt-out will work for players, the league and the NFLPA seem to be on the same side for most issues.
As for Davis, even if the season is played, there is a good chance that there are no fans in Las Vegas to see him. Davis has already announced that he will not be attending any in-person games this season if Raiders fans are unable to attend, and it seems that more and more Raiders fans will be unable to attend any games for what will be the team’s inauguration. year in Las Vegas.
