An already tumultuous offseason will continue to be modified due to the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL is canceling two preseason games — specifically the first and last scrimmages — according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and PFT’s Mike Florio.
For the Baltimore Ravens, that will mean preseason games against the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins will be scrapped. However, it does mean Baltimore will play against the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers this preseason, with the Ravens meeting the Cowboys again in the regular season (Week 13). It will also be the first time since 2016 that Baltimore and Washington haven’t squared off in the preseason.
By removing the first game of the preseason, the NFL’s decision will give teams more time to prepare. With in-person minicamps canceled this offseason, training camp marks the first time coaches and players will be on the practice field together since last season. In Baltimore’s case, their first preseason game will be on Aug. 22, nearly a month after the start of training camp. The decision to shorten the preseason this year also limits the amount of travel being done as the country continues to see the number of cases of infected rise.
The last preseason game is often the one that fans dislike the most. Because it’s closer to the regular season, teams don’t often play their starters at all and leave those reps for players on the bubble. For fans, that ultimately watching a bunch of third and fourth stringers, many of whom aren’t going to be one the team days later when rosters get trimmed to 53 players.
While the regular season hasn’t yet been impacted by these changes, training camp and the preseason will be the league’s first real test of their protocols.
