The NFL will not have a preseason this year. For fans and spectators who find the four games prior to the start of the season boring or unnecessary, this is probably good news, But for the Carolina Panthers, a young team with a new coaching staff, not having even one preseason game negates some opportunities.
The Panthers' preseason schedule has been reduced from four games to zero due to concerns related to the spread of COVID-19, per league sources.
The NFL wanted to hold two preseason games, partly so that new COVID-19 protocols could be tested at each stadium, but the players' union, the NFLPA, wanted zero games to lessen the risk of spreading the disease among players. The cancellation has not yet been officially announced, the NFLPA informed players of the agreement with the league on a call Tuesday evening.
Carolina's first game under Matt Rhule is now not scheduled until Sept. 13 vs. the Raiders. This also will eliminate their preseason meeting with former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in New England.
A canceled preseason will impact the Panthers perhaps more than any other team. Carolina is the only NFL team to have a new head coach, new offensive and defensive and coordinators and a new starting quarterback. The lack of a preseason will give them less opportunities to work out any kinks that a real game scenario may present and provide less chances to observe the younger players on the roster; Carolina used all seven of its draft picks on defensive players, many of which will be expected to contribute as rookies.
Undrafted players will have a harder chance than ever before to make the roster as there will be less opportunities to make splash plays or prove themselves in a game setting. On top of that, roster sizes for the start of camp are expected to be smaller than usual, potentially from 90 to 80 players, which will likely impact undrafted rookies more than others.
With the team implementing an entirely new system with many players who have never even been in the team facility before, the Panthers will have to get creative to be ready for Week 1. The new coaching staff will not have a live game scenario against another team to establish any issue may come from working together in a game that the preseason usually presents first-year staffs. Instead some of the learning will have to come Week 1 of the season.
The Panthers were supposed to get together for the first time on a football field in April, but with the way the training camp schedule shakes out, that won't happen until August. Carolina's offseason is all about learning: Players getting to know their new teammates and the group as a whole preparing for the 2020 season. Now that learning will be condensed with zero practice quizzes.
Carolina's preseason was scheduled to begin Aug. 13 at home against the Jaguars, travel to New England to play Aug. 20, visit the Ravens on Aug. 30 and host the Steelers to end the preseason Sept. 3. Since 1978, most NFL teams have played four preseason games each year.
Eliminating the preseason removes any extra travel teams have to do and allows for teams to ramp-up to full practices after the loss of in-person offseason training. The goal of cutting the preseason games is to hopefully allow the league to get through 16 regular-season games and limit the initial spread of COVID-19.
Earlier this offseason, the Panthers announced training camp would be relocated from Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where it had been conducted all 25 years of the team's history, to Charlotte. In addition to moving to the team's facility at Bank of America Stadium, plans for joint practices with the Ravens prior to their preseason game in Baltimore were canceled.
Rookies first reported to the team's facility Tuesday and took their first COVID-19 tests. Before entering the facility, players will need two negative COVID-19 tests separated by 72 hours. They will be tested daily for at least the first two weeks of camp and then if the% positive rate drops to below 5 percent, testing would move to every other day. Test results are expected within 24 hours.
