J.J. Watt undecided on upcoming NFL season
Most professional sports leagues have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, forced to suspend seasons and alter formats. Due to the timing of the pandemic though, the National Football League never had to miss or re-schedule a regular season or playoff game because the 2019 season had already concluded. However, with the 2020 regular season set to start in September, there have been plenty questions regarding whether the league will be able to play especially given the high contact nature of the sport.
On Wednesday, five-time Pro Bowler and Houston Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt expressed his concerns about starting play on a conference call. When asked whether he had made up his mind regarding next year, his answer was a very honest one.
“I’ve been on the NFLPA calls the last couple times we’ve had them,” Watt said via ESPN. “I don’t think we’re anywhere … I don’t think we’re at a point yet where people are making that decision because we don’t have enough information yet to be making decisions like that. So I think that it’s a very fluid process, and I think it keeps coming up. Obviously … the report date gets closer and closer. But as of right now, we really don’t have enough information to make a decision like that, I would say.”
The NFL has already started to alter its preseason plans, with the league cutting down the number of preseason games from four to two and canceled the Hall of Fame Game altogether. The Hall of Fame Game is typically the preseason-opener.
“If the doctors and the PA doctors decide that it’s not in the best safety interest of the players to have them, then we don’t have to,” Watt said when asked about playing preseason games. “But I also at the same time think about undrafted guys and the guys who make a roster in the fourth preseason game and how special that is and how many opportunities would be missed from that. So I’m on both sides of the fence.
“I think obviously as a vet, personally do I think that preseason games for somebody in my situation is absolutely necessary? I would say, I don’t think so. But I think there are a whole bunch of people who need those opportunities and who live for those opportunities. I mean, it can literally change a life. So I see, I see the other side of it where somebody could literally have their entire dream come true because of those games, so that’s a very difficult debate to have.”
With cases of the virus continuing to surge across the United States, many questions remain unanswered with the situation rapidly changing and evolving daily. Major League Soccer resumed play on Wednesday with a tournament, but all teams will be playing in Orlando, Florida, and they have had their fair share of issues already. FC Dallas was forced to withdraw from the tournament prior to it beginning due to a high number of confirmed cases.
On Wednesday’s call, Watt mentioned it was important to look at what other leagues in North America were doing and to learn from their experiences.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” Watt said. “Everybody is. So whether it’s the NBA, whether it’s the MLB, whether it’s the NWSL, whoever it is. We’re in uncharted waters right now. So everybody should be looking and watching and observing what everybody else is doing to see what works, what doesn’t work and needs to be tweaked because we’re all kind of going through this thing together.
It remains to be seen if and when the NFL season will kick-off, but regardless the 2020 campaign is set to look and feel very different than any prior to it.
