The NFL is moving forward with trying to start the season on time.
It appears that despite the elephants in the room that the league does not have a protocol in place should a team come down with mass Covid-19 infections, it appears it’s full-steam ahead for getting teams into training camp in hopes the NFL season can start on time. The Dallas Cowboys and 31 other clubs received a memo from the league office outlining the reporting dates for later this month.
Ceedee Lamb, Trevon Diggs and the rest of the Cowboys ballyhooed rookie class will report this coming Tuesday, July 21. Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton will join seventh-round selection Ben DiNucci two days later on Thursday, and the full squad will report the following Tuesday, July 28.
Kansas City and Houston, who open the season on the Thursday night opener, will have a different reporting schedule, likely starting Saturday or Sunday.
The league has been in a holding pattern as the global pandemic has ravaged the United States more than any other country in the world. While others have returned to live sports after effective handling of the spread, every American sports league is working on modified schedules with plans to conduct games in front of either no or severely limited fans.
The league and the NFLPA are still working on an agreement that could include an opt-out date for players who either choose not to participate or have elevated medical concerns about exposure. The players association wants to scrap the preseason all together, adding practice time and going straight into the regular season. There is still a lot to work out and while one would think the country being in lock down for several months would have afforded the league time to develop protocols, there is a sense of disorganization emanating from the discussions.
From Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire:
In a Friday conference call with national media, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, Assistant Executive Director of External Affairs George Atallah, and President JC Tretter (who is also the center for the Cleveland Browns) discussed where things stand at this point regarding the safety of all players, coaches, executives, and other team staff.
At this point the league and the players’ association have not agreed on the number of preseason games, or whether there will be preseason games at all. (If you’re betting on the side of the NFLPA, bet on no preseason games). There is not an agreed-upon protocol regarding the frequency of testing. Nor is there an assurance that everyone involved will adhere to whatever guidelines the two parties must agree on before training camps can reasonably start, never mind the season itself. The NFL has been a “ready-fire-aim” organization through most of Roger Goodell’s tenure, but the danger in acting in this fashion now is unprecedented.
New Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, along with Joe Judge (New York) and Ron Rivera (Washington), will be at a disadvantage having to implement new schemes and practice routines while the division champion Philadelphia Eagles have been working under Doug Pedersen’s protocols for years now. The shrunken offseason magnifies the issues.
Still, it appears the hunt for a sixth Lombardi trophy is on. For now.
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