Some NFL Teams Want to Delay Start of Season; Would That Benefit Patriots?

Some NFL owners want to push back the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and that could help out the New England Patriots.

As the 2020 NFL season continues to get closer, it appears that doubt is growing across the NFL about how the season will play out. Players seemed to be the first ones to speak out on the issue.

New England Patriots defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty recently spoke on their podcast and talked about their growing doubt of a 2020 NFL season. They also debunked the theory that the NFL could enter a bubble due to the number of players on the roster.

"It's kind of scary because something like that, I think it was probably just offense, so they probably had maybe 10 guys out there. When you think about the future, if it's hard for 10 guys just to get together to do little passing drills or anything of that nature, to think about somewhere between 53 and 90 guys in a training camp, it's going to be insane. So I don't know how that's going to turn out."

Now the owners are speaking out about their worries. According to The MMQB's Albert Breer, owners are pushing for a delayed start to the 2020 season.

“That’s the first place you have to start,” said one team exec. “I’m big on pushing back. We need to push back the start,” said another.

Around the country cases of the coronavirus are surging. Luckily in Massachusetts, things are starting to slow down. But Florida, Texas, and Arizona are seeing more and more cases every day. 

Early on it seemed like an NFL season was a guarantee. The league kept the offseason moving along, even holding a remote NFL Draft. Now that optimism has diminished.

If the season was to be pushed back, the Patriots could benefit from the extra time. With a new quarterback taking over, their situation is less than ideal. This offseason will be very different and it's likely that players won't be able to practice like they are used to. Extra time to prepare for Week 1 would give a player like Jarrett Stidham - who is the projected Week 1 starter for New England - more time to study the playbook and prepare on the mental side of things. Being the leader of the offense, this would be beneficial for Stidham. It would allow for him to show he is capable of taking over and ensure that his teammates can trust him.

Also, it's likely that if the NFL season was pushed back that this would allow for more practice reps. This would be crucial for Stidham, who is looking to build a rapport with his wide receivers, along with some of the younger talent the coaching staff will be relying on moving forward. Julian Edelman has been a staple in New England, but Stidham also needs to work with some of the young/newer faces to the team such as N'Keal Harry, Mohamed Sanu, Jakobi Meyers, and Marqise Lee. If the Patriots offense wants to be successful moving forward they can't just rely on Edelman to bail them out. 

As more sports leagues ponder how to handle living in the post-COVID-19 landscape, it appears that NFL fans might have to wait a little longer for regular season football to return.