The 2020 season is going to be unlike anything the NFL has seen in its history. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, training camps have been altered, new rules have been implemented, and we're looking at zero preseason games being played this summer. Upon player arrival to camp this week, they'll essentially just be tested for COVID-19, and then the first padded practice doesn't start for another 20 days after that. The word "unique" doesn't even do it justice when trying to describe what this summer will be like across the league.
While this is all an attempt to get the regular season started on schedule and (more importantly) keep players and other personnel safe from the coronavirus, it does have an impact on players who are on the bubble to make opening day rosters. One of the new rule changes that NFL and NFLPA agreed upon is trimming roster sizes from the traditional 90-man squads to 80 by Aug. 16. That eliminates 10 players (likely undrafted free agents or Day 3 selections) from putting in an honest bid to make the team. Not only will the smaller roster sizes for camp hurt players chances, but the fact that there will be no exhibitions to further showcase themselves makes this year a much more difficult hurdle for those remaining bubble players to overcome, which isn't lost on clubs.
"It's going to be a difficult year for younger players," Texans head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien told Albert Breer of The MMQB. "With no preseason games, and less practice, especially having no rookie minicamps and no OTAs in the spring, you're gonna have to get down to who your team is faster than you have in the past and get your team ready to go, and do it in an intelligent way. I've had discussions with a lot of different guys on our team.
"One of our leaders is Dylan Cole. In 2017 he was a rookie tryout guy. He stood out to us and then we brought him on to the 90-man, and he played well in the preseason that year, and he made our team, and now he's a special teams captain. That's going to be hard for a guy to do this year. That's just how I see it. It's not that it can't be done, it's just going to be more difficult."
There's no denying that an undrafted rookie making a team this year is going to be even more difficult than it normally is, which means the NFL could be missing out on the next Adam Thielen, Malcolm Butler, or even Tony Romo. Thielen recently told the Pioneer Press that he "wouldn't be in the NFL" if he was coming into the league this summer. Not only will it make things harder for them to make a club this year, but the lack of preseason games also eliminates opportunities for players to put their play on film to help them land a gig later on.
To put it in a nutshell -- this is is a bad break for young players, especially those who went undrafted this year. Already we've seen teams across the league begin trimming rosters down to 80 prior to the deadline, which will leave some promising players on the street looking for work.
One glimmer of hope does remain for this crop, however, as the NFL and NFLPA did agree to expand practice squads from 12 to 16 players, further giving teams some depth as the pandemic wages on.
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July 27, 2020 at 09:09PM
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Bill O'Brien talks harsh reality of pandemic-altered season, predicts 'difficult year for younger players' - CBS Sports
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