The NFL and NFL Players Association are discussing the possibility of playing only two preseason games this year. Two would be the absolute minimum, for reasons unrelated to getting football teams ready to go.
Apart from the larger-than-usual ratings the preseason games would generate, each team having a home preseason game and a road preseason game would give every team a dry run, making it easier to execute what will be a very different game-day experience when the regular season begins. Whether adjusting to preparing for a game in their own stadium or to traveling and showing up and following guidelines in another city, it will be important to know how it looks and feels before forcing a team to experience it in their first regular-season home and road games.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he assumes that there will be preseason games. While everything is subject to change and any assumptions amid the pandemic create very real ass-you-me potential, it will be very difficult for teams to be ready in September if they don’t get a chance to go through the motions in August. And it would be smart for all coaches to assume that, before there can be an effective regular season of 16 games, there will need to be a minimal preseason of two.