The New York Giants are scheduled to begin their 2020 training camp in a little over three weeks. Everyone is anxious about coming back to work in the backdrop of COVID-19 restrictions.
There is still a load of uncertainty about just how teams are supposed to conduct their camps, however.
NFL GMs and head coaches were told on calls today the start date for training camps should remain as scheduled later this month, but no decisions on how camps will be structured, per sources.
Translation: A fight with the NFLPA over preseason games is just getting started.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 7, 2020
The league has already cut the preseason down to two games and now the NFLPA is sticking to their guns about cancelling the preseason altogether.
“Pelissero reports camps ‘should’ still begin on July 28. ‘Should’ is the most modest of hedges, but it is still notable after a summer of zero hedging,” reports Rotoworld. “Pelissero expects a ‘fight’ with the NFLPA over how camp and the preseason will be organized. Worried about catching COVID-19, players are pushing for zero preseason games and smaller rosters. Compared to North America’s other major sports leagues, the NFL has had a charmed pandemic offseason, but that is slowly changing as the reality of one difficult decision after another sets in. 22 days isn’t much time to solve a host of vexing problems.”
Major League Baseball announced their schedule on Monday and many teams are set to begin their seasons in a little over two weeks. But teams in areas of the country where the virus is spreading are facing many challenges, including scores of players “opting-out” of playing this year, citing they do not want to endanger their health and/or the health of their families.
That could happen in the NFL as well. We probably won’t find out how many players will weigh the risks and choose to opt-out until training camps begin and we see what transpires. If rashes of new infections and breakouts occur, the NFL, like the other major sports leagues, will be forced to alter, or even cancel, their plans.
The Giants are already behind and under the gun. They are trying to string things together behind a new coaching staff led by head coach Joe Judge. Usually, the NFL affords teams with new head coaches more time in order to get jump-started, but the COVID-19 restrictions have all but washed that away. They begin the Judge era at an extreme disadvantage.
“The coronavirus pandemic wiped out spring practices, so players might not come back to training camp in their usual physical condition,” writes NJ.com’s Darryl Slater. “The preseason has already been cut in half, to two games (and it could be fewer, ultimately). And there likely will be more strength-and-conditioning time during this camp, as opposed to on-field practice time. With the on-field action — in terms of practices and preseason games — so limited this summer, will the Giants be prepared for Year 1 under head coach Joe Judge? It’s a big question. They don’t have much time to get ready.”
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