No preseason and roster reductions: How NFL’s big changes in 2020 affect the Dolphins
Coronavirus has done what the players union never could:
End the dreaded preseason (at least for 2020).
The NFL has notified the NFLPA that there will be no preseason games this year, two sources tell the Miami Herald, a major concession to the players as the league searches for a way to both begin and end the season as planned during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Confirmation that the league was scrapping the preseason came during an NFLPA conference call between union leaders and their membership Tuesday.
Players have long loathed the preseason — which are basically unpaid opportunities to get hurt — but the league had held onto the exhibition season because it was a revenue generator.
The NFL had already slashed its preseason schedule in half but had hoped to play at least one game — preserving millions in revenue for a sport that will come in decidedly under budget this year.
But the league granted the union that concession during talks on how to best move forward during the pandemic. Another big change in 2020: Training camp rosters will be capped at 80, instead of the normal 90. It’s unclear if that figure would include offensive lineman Durval Queiroz Neto, who had an exemption as part of the league’s international player program.
Once the rule changes become official, the Dolphins — who presently have 87 players, including the Brazilian project — will need to make cuts.
With the Dolphins required to cut at least six players, among those who could be at risk are undrafted rookie tight end Bryce Sterk, undrafted rookie offensive linemen Jonathan Hubbard and Nick Kaltamayer, veteran receivers Ricardo Louis and Mack Hollins, undrafted rookie linebacker Kylan Johnson, veteran linebackers Calvin Munson and James Crawford and cornerbacks Nate Brooks and Codrea Tankersley.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins — with 13 draft picks and a slew of free agent additions — could be affected more than most due to the truncated preseason.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores already had lost dozens of workouts and practices in the spring due to the coronavirus lockdown, and even though the full team is expected to report in the next week, padded practices cannot begin for some four weeks.
That will give him just a few weeks to evaluate and develop his young team, with the opener in New England on Sept. 13.
And as for that looming quarterback competition? Ryan Fitzpatrick has an even greater advantage now, if that’s possible. He was already far ahead of Tua Tagovailoa after a 2019 team MVP season — plus he has a long history with new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey — and there probably isn’t enough time now for Tagovailoa to catch up.
With teams expected to be permitted to play in front of no fans or limited capacity, the league and union also must still negotiate key economic issues to deal with the effects of an expected plunge in league revenue.
Those negotiations could continue while players are in camp. The sides could ultimately agree to a smoothing out of cap hits over several years. Otherwise, the cap could drop from $198 million this year to $120 million in 2021, according to NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.
Among the issues still being negotiated: the amount of the stipend players would receive if games are lost and criteria to qualify for a group of high-risk players who could opt out and still receive compensation.
