The cancellation of school football games will have a much greater effect on the NFL beyond giving the league a chance to play Saturday’s games this fall.
Evaluating players for the draft will be one of the challenges.
“I think until you see exactly what the outlook is, keep your hand tied behind your back,” said Stephen Jones, executive vice president of the Dallas Cowboys workforce. “But at the same time, I think we should be ready to move back to last year’s band on some of those players, because as things stand, some of those schools might not play.”
The Big Ten and Pac-12 announced Tuesday that they will play this fall. Both leagues and many small meetings point to spring if the coronavirus relents.
The remaining meetings of Power Five, the southeast, the Atlantic coast and the big 12, still plan to start the season next month, the virus may force them to cancel.
“It’s going to be interesting, it’s going to be a challenge,” Jones said. “Like we did in the draft, I think we’ll settle for that and figure out how to do it. If some matches are played and others do not, then we will have to have a strategy that is aimed at players from groups who are not playing football this year compared to the groups that do.
“One thing I can assure you is that we will prepare and move on, roll up our sleeves, do the homework and do whatever it takes to compare those players. Everyone will have to paint on the same things we want paintings, and I bet our organization will adopt it and do it.”
Many school players who don’t play won’t get the chance to play with their draft actions. Even a demo game or a few would possibly not be the same as a full season.
Joe Burrow, the first overall pick in the draft after throwing 60 landing passes and winning the Heisman Trophy. He advised that he would look for another race if he hadn’t played last season. Burrow had a decent junior season for LSU after his move from Ohio State. His senior crusade earned him a fully guaranteed four-year contract of $36.19 million from the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’m sorry for all the college athletes right now. I hope their voices will be heard through decision makers. If that happened a year ago, I’d probably be for a task right now,” Burrow wrote on Twitter.
The schedule for all-out school games in January, the NFL scout mix in late February, and the draft scheduled for April 29 through May 1 may also be affected by the cancellation and postponement of school games. A league spokesman declined to comment Thursday when asked if the NFL would be willing to move some of the occasions to accommodate adjustments to school football schedules.
The assignment may be deferred until June 2, according to the current collective agreement. The league would like approval from the NFL Players Association to further delay it.
Teams and their follow-up are progressing and preparing for a variety of scenarios.
“We have to be flexible because things are going to change,” said Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst. “There’s going to be a draft. We have to win players. We just have to do it in other ways.
“We had contingency plans and we discussed a few things and how we were going to apply the technique in everything if that were the case. Really disappointed for those kids. It’s kind of complicated. Some of those boys may never have a chance to play football again. It’s other sports. No football matches pick up.”
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who in the past controlled USC for nine seasons before returning to the NFL, put it in perspective.
“During those periods, you don’t get everything you’re used to. That’s not what it’s all about this time,” Carroll said. “This time it’s about putting on and facing the challenges, maintaining a wonderful mindset and mindset so you can get there and help the other people who want it. And a lot of that doesn’t do what you do. Array.. This thing, eventually we’ll get there.”
Meanwhile, the NFL moves forward with plans to play a full schedule. The league can even move some games on Saturdays to potentially generate more televised revenue, helping to succeed over some of the economic losses related to the game in empty stadiums.
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AP Pro Football editor Schuyler Dixon and AP Sports editor Tim Booth contributed to the report.
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