Rumors: 2020 preseason could be shortened to 2 games

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that the NFL Preseason could be shortened to two games.

Per Florio’s report states that the first and fourth weeks of the preseason are being done away with. The league source cites concerns about the number of people teams need to move when playing road games. Cutting the number of road games in half will simplify matters for traveling teams.

The report also cites concerns among coaches that players will need the extra time in camp to get into football shape following an offseason in which players were forced to train on their own. Likewise, teams have been unable to hold on-field activities at all over the course of the spring. Coaches will need the extra time to work with their players to make up for the on-field practices.

Florio also filed an earlier report that the NFL Players Association could prefer that the preseason be eliminated completely. Per the new CBA, the NFL doesn’t need the players association to sign off on a shortened preseason, but the situation remains fluid.

At this point we don’t know the fate of the Giants’ annual match-ups against the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Those games are slated to be the first and fourth of the preseason schedule, respectively. The Giants’ other two games are a road game against the Tennessee Titans and a home game against the Green Bay Packers. It would make sense for a league that wants to cut down on the burdens of travel to massage the schedule so the Giants would play the Jets and Patriots, given the former share a stadium and the latter are only a couple hours away. But at this point few details seem to be known

The report states that the NFL will make the official announcement some time Thursday, and we will certainly learn more then.