NFL owners met Monday and came up with a new proposal for the NFLPA on how training camps will begin. The proposal includes playing just one preseason game, according to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
If the proposal is approved, the preseason game would take place the week of Aug. 27. For the Steelers, that would mean they would play the Jets in New York Aug. 28. They would not have a preseason game at Heinz Field.
Meanwhile, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to testing protocols that were a major hurdle between the league starting training camps July 28.
NFL and NFLPA have agreed on testing protocols. They will start with daily testing for the first two weeks, then go to every other day if the positive test rate falls below 5 percent. If it doesn't, they'll keep testing daily.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 20, 2020
A number of players took to social media Sunday to voice their displeasure with a lack of a concrete plan by the league. That obviously has been taken care of with Monday afternoon's announcement of the testing plan in place.
It is as follows:
A memo that just went out outlining COVID-19 testing pic.twitter.com/RnJHRXQOKA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 20, 2020
Earlier in the day, it was announced the Jets and Giants will not be permitted to have fans in MetLife Stadium. The Steelers play there in the preseason, then open the regular season there Sept. 14.
The move to have just one preseason game is a big concession by the NFL, as well, as it takes a home game away from half of the teams. In addition to potential revenue losses, teams that don't host a preseason game also won't get an opportunity to run through game day coronavirus protocols.
The NFL initially wanted two preseason games, playing what would have been the second and third weeks of the preseason and giving every team a home game. The NFLPA doesn't want to play any preseason games this year.
The NFL made the adjustment because the NFLPA wants a longer acclimation period of 21 days for players reporting to training camps.
Teams can begin having their rookies report for training camp Tuesday. The Steelers currently have no plans to have their rookies report this week.
The Steelers signed a number of players from the XFL as opposed to brining in a bunch of rookie players this year. They currently have just 16 rookies on their roster.
