NFL Insider Peter King Explains Why He Believes There Will Be a 2020 Season
By Scott Rogust
The NBA, MLB, and NHL are scrambling to return after the coronavirus pandemic effectively paused their respective seasons. But for the NFL, teams were able to sign free agents and go forward with the draft, all from home. Even so, there's still plenty of uncertainty about the 2020 season, but one NFL insider is confident that it can happen.
During an appearance on WEEI's Dale and Keefe on Thursday, NBC Sports' Peter King explained why he fully believes we'll have football this fall.
"Because we are three months away from it mattering at all, because I want to you think about this: Nobody cares about the preseason games anyway," said King, via WEEI. "Today is May 14, the first game of the regular season is four months from two days ago, the first full weekend is Sept. 13, the first game would be on Sept. 10. We’re four months away from games and really three months away from when teams would really need to start practice to get ready if you’re going to start on time."
King brings up a valid point. The NFL's counterparts don't have the same luxury as they do. The NBA and NHL seasons were suspended in the span of a day after Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz contracted COVID-19. As for MLB, they were initially expecting a two-week delay to Opening Day, but that plan was quickly scrapped.
Meanwhile, those leagues are scrambling to come up with a plan that will allow their seasons to kickoff again, but they also have to lay down the groundwork to ensure the safety of players, coaches, media members, and stadium staff.
The NFL is in no rush to come up with a strategy right now. They have until August to create one, because that's when training camp and the preseason normally take place. By that time, the United State could possibly have more access to testing and contact tracing. That's a necessity, considering a vaccine won't be available until next year, at the earliest.
King is confident that the National Football League can sit idly by and gather as much information as possible to ensure we can have a 2020 season. Let's hope he's right.