Back in mid-July, we were all headed into the great unknown—we didn’t know what training camp would look like, what testing would prove out, whether preseason games would be played or if even a single fan would be allowed in the stands. We’ve gotten answers to those questions since (more like regular practice; that football could be played; no; and yes), and now we’re back where we started.
The NFL offseason is underway. And it’s hard to say what’s ahead.
We can reasonably assume there’ll be free agency and a draft between now and mid-summer. What that will look like, and what comes in between, remains anyone’s guess.
That, as you might imagine, has created issues for scouting and coaching staff diving into draft and free-agent meetings this week. So how do you plan for—or in our case, preview—an offseason without knowing what shape it’ll take on a month from now, a month after that or a month after ?
Talking to teams the last three days to figure that out, the answer is really the same as it was back in the summer. Try to be open-minded. Be ready to adjust. Do a ton of homework. Look under every rock for ways to turn expected disadvantages into advantages gained over everyone else. In short, to steal what a coach might say on a Wednesday, stay loose and look alive.
And reminders of where we all are aren’t subtle. Scouts coming in from out of town and coaches coming back from vacation, for these meetings over the last week or two, had to clear three COVID-19 tests and then a rapid test to qualify to even have a seat in those rooms.
Which is to say before we even touch on the possibility of massive roster cuts because of the revenue shortfall due to COVID-19, a potentially robust trade market, the idea of unusual quarterback movement or how the draft process will once again be thrown in a blender, one truth needed to be confronted:
The 2020 season may be over and done with, but the challenges associated with it are not.
