With pro sports remaining on hold, the future of the upcoming NFL season looms as the country continues to feel the impact of COVID-19. The NFL has maintained its expectations are that the season will go on as scheduled, but more is learned about the coronavirus each day. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll discussed the upcoming season in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio noting that Seattle is “looking to be as prepared as possible” for the upcoming season.
“Well everything is kind of in flux right now,” Carroll said, per Pro Football Talk. “We’ve set back the time frame to start but we’re getting ready for virtual offseason and all of that. We’re all working real hard to do that to get organized so that we can do it really well. We just have to be patient, but in the meantime we just kind of keep grinding and stay with the mentality kind of like that they could tell us next week that we’re on. We’re attempting to be as prepared as possible. We’re not saying ‘OK, we’ve got three or four weeks to figure this thing out.’ We’re not doing that. We’re just going for it.”
The NFL has had an interesting offseason since teams have been unable to meet in-person with free agents. The NFL draft will take place remotely with each team’s GM selecting from their home.
NFL Offseason Workouts Are Unlikley to Happen
The unique offseason is expected to continue with rookie mini-camps and OTA’s unlikely to go on as scheduled. Teams may meet with players virtually, but we are unlikely to see on-field workouts with players until training camp, at the earliest. Carroll emphasized that the Seahawks will be “adaptable” to the new reality.
“It’s no different than everybody is in the whole world right now,” Carroll noted, per Pro Football Talk. “We’re all kind of in flux so I think the mentality and attitude is what’s most important. We’re going to figure it out and work through it and we’re going to be open to the change and willing to be adaptable and all of that so our mindset is real good about it and I think it goes kind of across the board for everybody. We’re all living that way right now.”
President Trump Told Sports Commissioners That He Expects the NFL Season to Start in September
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump spoke with commissioners of the major sports leagues across the United States. ESPN reported that Trump “believes the NFL season should start on time in September.”
“I want fans back in the arenas,” Trump noted at a White House briefing, per ESPN. “I think it’s … whenever we’re ready. As soon as we can, obviously. And the fans want to be back, too. They want to see basketball and baseball and football and hockey. They want to see their sports. They want to go out onto the golf courses and breathe nice, clean, beautiful fresh air.”
For the NFL season to go on as scheduled, there likely needs to be widespread COVID testing available. It is too early to know exactly how things will play out, but the Seahawks are preparing as if everything will go on as scheduled.
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Seahawks’ Pete Carroll Breaks Silence on the 2020 NFL Season