NFL Notes: 2020 Season, 2021 Salary Cap, Injured Lists, Training Camp, Preseason

2020 Season

The NFL held a Friday meeting with the NFLPA and issued the following statement regarding the session: 

“NFL clubs met today via videoconference and received an update on preparations for the 2020 season. We will continue to implement the health and safety protocols developed jointly with the NFLPA, and based on the advice of leading medical experts, including review by the CDC. We will address additional issues in a cooperative way. All decisions will be made in an effort to put us in position to play a full regular season and postseason culminating with the Super Bowl which is the shared goal of the clubs and the players.”

• A source tells Mark Maske of deliberations between NFL and NFLPA: “I think we’re moving in the right direction. There’s a chance camps could start on time.”
• NFLPA executive director Demaurice Smith said of the safety and economics all being connected: “There’s a straight line between getting the health and safety question right, overall economics right as it relates to contracts, opt-outs, IR, short-term IR, whether COVID is a football injury or constitutes a failed physical.”
• The NFLPA said Friday that some teams began sending Infectious Disease Emergency Response plans to union Thursday night and they are reviewing those to make sure they’re in compliance with protocols they’ve negotiated with the league. (Dan Graziano)
• The union made it clear that they want daily testing and they do not plan on changing that position. Beyond that, the NFLPA says they want an acclimation period for football based on a joint task force and they believe holding preseason games will impact whether or not the season finishes on time. (Joel A. Erickson)
• Smith said their priority is to not only “find a way to start the season, but to finish the season” and playing two preseason games “doesn’t properly influence or increase likelihood of starting and finishing the season on time.” (Aaron Wilson)
• Smith also stressed the importance of having daily testing capabilities: “We believe that daily testing is important. Especially given some of those hot spots. We don’t right now plan on changing that position.” (Aaron Wilson)
• NFLPA president J.C. Tretter noted that many players haven’t had normal access to gyms due to the pandemic, which has resulted in exercise time to decrease. The NFLPA wants 21 days of strength and conditioning, 10 days of non-padded practices, and 14 days of contact acclimation after consulting medical experts. (Aaron Wilson)
• As of now, Smith isn’t aware of any playing choosing to opt-out of the 2020 season. (Aaron Wilson)

2021 Salary Cap

• NFLPA executive director Demaurice Smith told reporters on Friday that the potential pandemic impact on the 2021 salary cap could result in a decrease of as much as $70 million per team. (Dan Graziano)
• Smith says they’re hoping they can negotiate with the NFL to spread out the decline over several coming years.
• On the potential of a salary cap decrease, Smith said he does not want the players this season (and next) to bear the brunt of the massive hit to revenue when they are taking the most risk of returning to work during a pandemic. (Matt Maiocco)

Injured Lists

• According to Tom Pelissero, one idea endorsed by the NFL competition committee to help teams cope with positive tests in 2020 is to allow an unlimited number of players to return from injured reserve and non-football injury lists after just three games instead of the normal eight. Pelissero adds that this idea has been discussed as NFL and NFLPA talks their talks.
• Pelissero reports that players would still have to be on the active roster through final cuts to be eligible to return and his understanding is that there’s less concern in this environment about “stashing” than making sure teams have players they trained available.

Training Camp

• NFLPA executive director Demaurice Smith said that while the NFL has decided to start training camp, their focus is to ensure it’s safe to open: “The league has made the decision that they want to start training camp on time. The role of the union is to hold them accountable on how to make sure it’s safe to open camp now.” (Dan Graziano)
• The NFLPA held a conference call with team doctors Thursday night over the NFLPA’s concerns about opening camps in hot spot cities. NFL team doctors said they believe camps can open safely and while the NFLPA has said they agree with some of this. The decision is ultimately up to the NFL. (Mark Maske)

Preseason

• NFLPA executive director Demaurice Smith said of the NFL’s plan to play two preseason games: “To engage in two games where players would be flying all over the country and then engaging with each other to work, and to do that PRIOR to the season, doesn’t increase the likelihood of starting and finishing the season on time.” (Dan Graziano)