The NFL Players Association has told its members there will be no preseason games in 2020, according to reports from NFL Network and USA TODAY.
The league will also reduce the size of training camp rosters from 90 to 80, according to multiple reports.
The players’ association had sought no preseason games and the league had reduced the exhibition schedule to two games. But on Monday evening, the NFL said it would eliminate those preseason contests and also would offer players 18 days for acclimation, up from seven days, a source told the Associated Press.
The NFLPA said Tuesday 95 players are known to have tested positive for the coronavirus. That number is up from 72 in the union’s last report on July 10.
Players will be tested daily for the coronavirus for at least the first two weeks of training camp, per the league’s new testing protocols.
After two weeks of daily testing, if the positivity rate of those tests falls below 5% among players and team individuals with close access to them, testing would go to every other day. If the positivity rate doesn’t fall below that threshold, daily testing would continue until it drops.
