As expected, the NFL still plans to release its full schedule of games in early May. No one is sure what that will look like, given the uncertainty created amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Will games start as scheduled in early September? Will they be played in front of fans or empty stadiums? A lot of questions still need answers.
Right now, the NFL is planning as if the regular season will play out as it typically does. However, it is also preparing for the possibility of a late start and shortened season.
Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that, according to a league source, the full NFL schedule is expected to be released by May 8 or 9, and include a full slate of games for each team. It will, however, be structured in a way that it could easily be shorted, if necessary.
Source says it should be fairly obvious when the NFL schedule for the 2020 season is released how it could be shortened if needed. The schedule is expected to be released May 8 or May 9 as a full schedule, but structured in such a way it could be easily shortened if necessary.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) April 16, 2020
What does that mean exactly? It means division matchups might be pushed to the backend of the schedule. That way, if the league needs to start after the scheduled Week 1 slate of games, it can easily eliminate non-division matchups.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic even speculates that non-conference games could be featured at the start of the season. For the San Francisco 49ers, those opponents would be the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Miami Dolphins.
Sounds like all division games would be scheduled for Nov. and Dec. And all the non-conference games -- at NE, at NYJ, vs. BUF and vs. MIA for the 49ers -- would be in Sept. and Oct. https://t.co/30wGPWfmRT
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) April 16, 2020
One Santa Clara County official, executive officer Dr. Jeffrey Smith, has already gone on record as saying that he isn't optimistic that sports will return to the area before Thanksgiving.
"It puts the entire country at risk," said Smith. "The fundamental thing is sports is not a local event. If you have people traveling from all over and you have no way of knowing whether they're infected or not -- I mean, 50,000 of them in a stadium is not a good idea."
Even the possibility of playing in stadiums and arenas without fans is worrisome to Smith.
"It would be pretty risky because of the very close contact among the athletes," added Smith. "You have to consider that everybody on the field is sharing sweat with everybody else, and that puts everybody at risk for being infected."
Playing elsewhere could be an option for the 49ers or other teams with similar potential restrictions. Of course, that would involve extended travel for players and staff, which, in addition to figuring out the logistics, would still present risks.