Much of the NFL chatter has surrounded how teams (and municipalities) will prepare for the regular season. But it will be worth keeping an eye on how everyone approaches the preseason.
So with that in mind, let’s see how the Green Bay Packers plan to handle things this summer:
#Packers 2020 training camp practices, Family Night & any preseason home games will not include fans this summer. https://t.co/WgWA9jFSXO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 15, 2020
The Packers won’t have fans at training camp practices, the team’s annual Family Night activities, and preseason home games (if there are any). President Mark Murphy said local health officials, the NFL, and CDC guidelines were considered when deciding to keep fans away from preseason games and other traditional summertime festivities that lead into the football season. It’s a bold measure, however, it is one that was made with safety in mind.
Which brings me to the Bears (and the rest of the NFL, for that matter).
Training camp opens in 13 days. And yet, there has been no public word regarding the team’s plans to host at Halas Hall. We know nothing about team (or league) protocols or how it plans to follow state and local guidelines. It’s not as if the team or league hasn’t had time to organize, make arrangements, or map out plans. And it’s not like the NFL didn’t have examples of what not to do while watching MLB muck up its summer with petty arguing over a labor dispute. Time is no longer on the league’s side, and that’s problematic.
And then there’s this:
The NFL sent a response Tues night to the NFLPA's proposal on reopening protocols. Still no agreement. Players still want daily testing, elimination of preseason games and for COVID to be classified as a football injury. (Non Football Injury List allows team to not pay a player.)
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 15, 2020
Hovering over the discussions is the increasing possibility that states like TX, AZ, CA may be shutting down again soon, restricting gatherings of 10 or more people, which obviously would preclude training camps in those states. External factors could force delayed start.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 15, 2020
When might those answers come? NFL owners have a call scheduled Friday for an update, I'm told. Under the CBA, rookies for 2 teams can report as early as Saturday, and for all 32 teams next Tuesday. A critical juncture for deciding how this season will proceed. https://t.co/YIYpTGN8Fy
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 15, 2020
It didn’t make sense for the league to rush into making plans back in March when it shut down operations as part of an attempt to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19. HOWEVER, it could be a bad sign if the league did not use the time in a productive way in terms of creating contingency plans for the summer months.
We’ll continue monitor this situation as we await word from the Bears regarding how things will operate at Halas Hall.