After multiple reports saying it might happen, new reports from Pro Football Talk and ESPN say that the NFL has officially decided to cut the preseason in half.
The league won’t be scrapping the first two games, however. Instead, the NFL has chosen to eliminate the first and last preseason games. That means the Kansas City Chiefs won’t be playing either of their home games scheduled against the Cincinnati Bengals or the Green Bay Packers. Both preseason games will be played on the road.
This decision comes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of on-field offseason workouts for NFL teams. According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the big driving factor behind this decision was the need for players to get back into football shape and have a proper acclimation period before playing in a full game.
Games are scheduled to be played in Weeks 2 and 3 of the original preseason schedule. Could mean we’ve seen the last 4-week NFL preseason. CBA allows for it to be shortened if/when 17-game regular seasons start.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) July 1, 2020
It’s not clear if the NFL will alter the dates, times or locations of Week 2 and Week 3. If they don’t here’s what the new schedule will look like for Kansas City.
| Week | Opponent | Date/Time | Channel |
| 1 | at Arizona Cardinals | Saturday, Aug. 22 – 8:00 p.m. CT | KSHB-TV |
| 2 | at Dallas Cowboys | Saturday, Aug. 29 – 7:00 p.m. CT | KSHB-TV |
These changes to the preseason schedule mean that Chiefs HC Andy Reid will have to adopt a new strategy. He’s usually very rigid, following the same ramp-up structure with his starters in each of the first three preseason games. By preseason Week 3, the starters take the majority of the snaps. He also always allows his second-string and third-string players opportunities to impress during the final week of the preseason. That all might change during the 2020 season.
We should have more clarity on the NFL’s decision in the coming days. Hopefully, we’ll find out more about how Reid plans to adjust his preseason strategy once Kansas City begins their training camp later this month.
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