The NFL's preseason slate is reportedly over before it started, as the league and NFLPA have agreed to nix all preseason games during negotiations regarding the upcoming 2020 campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network both confirmed the news Tuesday. As Garafolo noted, the league made the offer to the NFLPA.
The two sides still must figure out other action items, although they have cleared a few hurdles.
Per Pelissero, there is a "general agreement" on players opting out of playing in 2020 due to COVID-19. The two sides are also seeing eye to eye on player stipends if games are lost, per Pelissero.
Rosters will be at 80 players to start training camps, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
"What does 'general agreement' mean on opt-out and stipend? Details are still being finalized (i.e. who qualifies as high risk, how much they're paid, etc.), but the NFL and NFLPA have agreed on the concept," Pelissero added. "Those will exist."
Meanwhile, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained what no preseason would mean for each team's training schedule.
"No preseason games will allow the league to follow a schedule recommended by a joint committee. That schedule calls for three weeks of strength and conditioning work, 10 days of non-padded practice and 10 days of padded practice over the final two weeks."
As Pelissero noted, the NFLPA still wants a longer "ramp-up period" from now through the start of the regular season.
NFLPA President and Cleveland Browns offensive lineman JC Tretter explained more in detail in a letter on the organization's website, noting that injuries increased by 25 percent when league operations took a pause following the 2011 lockout.
Tretter elaborated further:
"The NFL initially accepted and implemented the Joint Committee’s suggestions, including items like no joint practices and no fans at training camp. However, the NFL was unwilling to follow the Joint Committee's recommendation of a 48-day training camp schedule.
"Despite these experts' assessment that teams face a serious risk of player-injury spikes this year (based on past NFL data and recent findings from sports leagues that have already returned to play this year), the NFL is unwilling to prioritize player safety and believes that the virus will bend to football."
The preseason was originally scheduled to begin on August 6 with the Hall of Fame game between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, but that matchup had already been axed alongside the postponement of the enshrinement ceremony for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2020.
All other teams were slated to begin their preseason matchups between August 13-16, with the final tune-ups occurring on Sept. 3.
With the preseason reportedly axed, the next time two NFL teams take the field for a game will be on Sept. 10, when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are scheduled to host the Houston Texans in an AFC divisional-round rematch.
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July 22, 2020 at 05:50AM
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Report: NFLPA Agrees to No Preseason Games, 80-Man Training Camp Rosters - Bleacher Report
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