Dwayne Haskins of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The NFL preseason schedule is a large waste of time.
As sports begin to try to return to play, the coronavirus concerns and complications have opened the possibility that games could be delayed or canceled. Those will not be met with many good feelings, but in the case of the NFL preseason schedule getting pared down, that is something that can unite a divided country.
According to Pro Football Talk, the NFL preseason schedule will be cut in half with only two games per team. The official announcement is expected on Thursday.
The first and fourth preseason games are what’s being canceled, according to PFT’s report. But not that it really matters all that much since the majority of starters and many key backups are held out of the preseason games for fear of injury.
Some teams like the Chicago Bears under Matt Nagy haven’t seen their started play at all in the preseason for the last two years.
While the injury concerns are why many felt the preseason schedule was too long in the first place, the primary reason for the schedule being cut in half is the ongoing pandemic sweeping the nation.
The travel complications, the limited time on the practice fields and the undo risk it presents before the games that actually count are all a part of the decision that arrived at the four preseason games being cut down to two.
There may be a downside to this for the players on the roster bubble who needed to show out in these preseason games to make their current team or to catch on elsewhere if they’re cut. The players on the fringe won’t have those opportunities in a game atmosphere to showcase what they can do so the impetus is on them standing out in practice sessions.