Looks like the NFL will be canceling each of this year’s preseason exhibition matchups in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This past Monday, NFL fans received the news that the league wasn’t likely to have any preseason games in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic lingering over our heads. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league offered zero exhibition matchups to the NFL Players Association.
And now, that proposal is seemingly going to come to fruition, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
NFLPA leadership told players on a conference call a few minutes ago there will be zero preseason games this year, sources say. Not a surprise given the league offered that but now all but official, according to the union.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 21, 2020
The league initially canceled the Hall of Fame Game — the annual preseason opener held right near the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio — which was supposed to be on Aug. 6 between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. Then, the NFL made the significant decision to cut the preseason in half, taking out each team’s Week 1 and 4 exhibition contests.
But now, it looks like we won’t be seeing NFL games until the regular season begins, and currently, the 16-game slate is scheduled to commence on Thursday, Sept. 10 with a matchup between the Houston Texans and the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s definitely a bummer for some of the rookies and young players who needed these preseason games in order to impress their respective coaching staffs. Nonetheless, the journey to the active, regular-season roster will need to come in the form of showing up and showing out in training camp, simple as that.
Training camps for NFL teams are supposed to begin on Tuesday of next week (July 28).
