The Kansas City Chiefs won’t play any preseason games in 2020.
The NFLPA informed players in a conference call on Tuesday evening that the NFL agreed to reduce the 2020 preseason to no games played. The union argued that the preseason wouldn’t allow for an adequate acclimation period for players given the minicamps and OTAs that have already been missed. The union also didn’t want their players undergoing unnecessary health risks related to traveling for meaningless exhibition games.
The NFL recognized some of these concerns initially and went from four preseason games to two. When the NFLPA wouldn’t budge the league then suggested going from two preseason games to one. Now they’ve settled on no preseason games to be played.
Ultimately, the lack of the preseason will have implications for the Chiefs in the coming season. They’ve used the preseason as a tool, specifically to evaluate special teams players and undrafted free agents. They also use it as a ramp-up period to get the starters ready for Week 1. Andy Reid starts them with one quarter and adds a quarter on with each consecutive game until giving them the week off in the final week. Kansas City will have to adjust their evaluation and ramp-up accordingly.
With the decision to cancel all preseason games, the current feeling around the NFL is that 2019 preseason might have been the last we’ll all see of the four-game preseason schedule. No one expects the NFL to return to four games in the future.
In addition to no preseason games, the NFLA and NFLPA are exploring the potential for smaller offseason rosters and opt-out clauses for at-risk players. None of those are final yet as issues continue to addressed ahead of the 2020 season.
