The NFL and NFLPA are now within a month of players reporting to training camp. The players, led by Cleveland Browns center and NFLPA president JC Tretter, want information on what the league protocols for a return to the field will be. Meanwhile, the NFL is trying to gather as much information it can before they have to roll out their protocols and attempt to achieve an accord with the players.
There are a lot of possibilities that have been floated, so let’s see if we can make some sense of what we know.
Training Camp Dates
According to Mike Florio of PFT, Rookies can be required to report to NFL facilities as early as July 19th for their initial COVID-19 testing and conditioning on July 21st. Injured veterans can be required to report for testing on July 21st and conditioning on July 23rd. The rest of the training camp roster will report for testing on July 26th with conditioning on July 28th. Full squad training camp can start on July 28th.
Roster Size
I spoke with Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network Thursday on my podcast, ‘All Eyez on Cleveland’ and he said that team’s roster size would likely be cut down to 75 by the start of camp on July 28th.
The interesting part here is that there are two approaches being considered to get to 75 players. Pauline went on to tell me that teams could potentially bring in rookies, UDFAs, roster invites and even some second year players for a few days of work before the rest of the players report. Front offices could use this short period to evaluate the back end of their roster and cut to 75 before things officially get underway on July 28th.
The other option would require front offices to take a closer look at their 90-man roster and get it down to 75 based on information they already have. Either way, teams will be cutting players right away to get their roster size down.
Hotels not mandatory
A month ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that all 32 NFL teams were going to be required to hold training camp at their home facilities. Many teams have mandated hotel stays during these periods in the past but due to the pandemic, no one will be required to stay in a hotel.
There may be rookies who don’t have homes in their team’s location yet who will need to be accommodated with a hotel room. It is also possible that some players may choose to use a hotel as a way to keep potential infection away from their homes, where their loved ones reside. However, teams will not be able to require hotel stays as they have in the past.
Travel
Obviously, this changes when a team travels for away games. The concept of game day travel has been discussed and met with some resistance from multiple players.
It is understandable that the players would push back against this idea and I’m sure coaches can’t be too keen on the idea either. Jumping off a plane and going straight to the stadium is asking for additional injury concerns.
Training Camp: On the Field
A couple potential concepts have been talked about when it comes to getting on the field during camp. The elimination of 11-on-11 drills is one idea that assuredly won’t make coaches happy and make their job quite a bit more challenging, but it has been talked about.
According to Mike Florio of PFT, the NFL wants to require all players to wear eye protection (visors) during camp. It is still unknown whether the league is going to introduce a modified face mask with N95 materials or extend the visor to help protect players. Regardless, players generally do not want these shields to be mandated.
COVID-19 Testing and Positive Tests
The NFL has been planning a testing pattern of every other day but it seems players among others would like to see testing done on an everyday basis. As far as positive tests are concerned, Pauline went into what he was hearing during my podcast. He stated they are contemplating a Non-Football Injury or NFI list for players who test positive. Everyone on the NFI list would be paid a specific amount during their two weeks on the list or however long it takes to get a positive test. At that time, the player would hypothetically rejoin his team. That is still in the planning and discussion stages.
2021 Salary Cap
Pauline was full of information when we spoke and one of the most intriguing ideas he relayed was concerning the 2021 salary cap. Teams will be cautious in their spending for the time being with the idea of a decreased 2021 salary cap seemingly inevitable due to lost in-stadium revenue.
Player extensions may be put off until teams have more concrete information regarding the 2021 cap figure.
He talked about a potential plan to artificially inflate the 2021 cap, raising it to the level of a normal year’s incremental increase. To accomplish this, the league would finance the 2021 cap from future years’ salary cap funds. By doing this, they could maintain an ascending salary cap instead of a decrease due to financial losses in 2020 and then a subsequential surge in revenues after returning to the normalcy of full stadiums in the following years. This would help prevent teams from having to make drastic roster moves, they commonly wouldn’t have to consider.
Fluid Situation
One has to presume that an enormous document full of health protocols and plans for the 2020 season is on the way soon. The NFL and NFLPA will need to come to an agreement on the modifications needed to play this season. The delay makes sense in that the NFL wants to gather as much information as possible about a virus that we learn more about every day. The league wants to be able to adjust things as needed while still creating a sound plan to keep all involved safe.
Optimism
Tony Pauline was optimistic the season would play, citing some impressive research during our interview. I have been optimistic that the 2020 season would play for some time based on the idea that they should be able to keep the virus off the field. With the increase in testing and even more importantly rapid response testing that could be introduced soon, teams should be able to verify players are virus free before allowing them on the field. This would create a sort of bubble between the white lines. I believe this can be accomplished by using frequent, strategic and timely testing.
The NFL will likely allow for larger practice squads to account for positive tests or multiple positive tests. The players have voted to get rid of all preseason games, but it seems more likely the NFL keeps the remaining two as to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to go through the process of being at home and playing an away game before this unusual regular season kicks off.
