No preseason games
Even for novice NFL fans, it’s clear to see the importance of preseason games. Perhaps we all can agree four of them each season is too many, but one or two is just. McDermott and his coaching staff have tons and tons of guys on the bubble on their rosters. Seeing players in live action against another team helps him get a feel of players when making roster cuts.
But because of COVID-19, there won’t be any preseason games in the NFL this year. While discussing how he’ll handle that, McDermott did give an interesting thought: College football does this all the time, and he isn’t afraid to reference college football programs while preparing for the upcoming season.
“I would like to have preseason games, but it’s been done before. Maybe not always in the NFL, but colleges do it and something similar every year. I reached out to a couple of college coaches, my college coach that I played for… we’ve got a lot of smart people in this building that have come from a lot of different backgrounds that can help. I’m confident that we’ll adjust and our players will adjust,” McDermott said.
And good news: McDermott and all of his players have gone through the college ranks, so conducting such a training camp, one without exhibition games, won’t be something new. McDermott also referenced that he plans to put players into situational practices and drills to help prepare for games.