It was reported last week that the NFL will cut its preseason from four to two games amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This is certainly the right move and it feels like there’s a pretty good chance we could see the league eliminate the preseason entirely in 2020.
While this does ensure the safety of players as we try to figure out what the season will look like, it does present an obstacle for a team like the Vikings.
The Vikings added 15(!) players in the 2020 NFL Draft along with a handful of undrafted free agents. These players are already at a disadvantage with the offseason being mostly virtual so far. That will only continue as we approach September.
Defensively, this is a team that lost Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Andrew Sendejo, Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen.
The replacements for those players — including veteran Michael Pierce and rookie Jeff Gladney — will be thrown into the fire in Week 1 against the Packers.
Every team has rookies and new players to get ready for a new season. When looking across the league, though, no case is quite as extreme as the Vikings, a team that also hopes to be a Super Bowl contender in 2020.
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