Will a shorter NFL preseason help or hurt the LA Rams?

As the NFL and NFLPA discuss shortening the 2020 preseason, we wonder if that will help or hurt the LA Rams?

The NFL and NFLPA are discussing a wide range of important issues for the 2020 NFL season. Some of those issues we’ve discussed in previous articles, some we have not. But one of the most significant discussions occurring now is over the 2020 NFL preseason schedule, and whether it should be shortened, and how. Preseason games are as much of a revenue stream for the NFL as it is an actual game setting situations to gauge a player’s ability to perform on an NFL roster.

Most NFL players have no love for the preseason games. After all, the true benefit exists for those players who are either on the roster bubble or are on the outside looking in at the chance to earn a place with the team by having a breakout performance showcased on the field.

Onramps for NFL rosters fewer and fewer

But opportunities for undrafted players to make NFL rosters are evaporating. Without the organized team activities (OTAs) and practice sessions, coaches have far less time to assess and evaluate new talent for the team, and will be increasingly focused upon effective implementation of the new season’s playbook.  Undrafted rookies always have the opportunity to get the attention of the coaching staff in preseason games.  Unless…

And as the NFL shortens the preseason schedule, the windows for earning a roster spot closes for rookies signed after the NFL Draft.  The 2020 LA Rams are depending upon an influx of talented rookies, both drafted and undrafted, to reinforce weaknesses that appeared in 2019. Shortening the preseason schedule for the team will make decisions about the roster all the more difficult.

Hopefully, the Rams will make the right decisions. And hopefully, the NFL will consider further expanding the active and practice rosters for 2020. This is a unique and perilous time for the NFL. It’s not about profit margins. It’s now about the survival of the sport for 2020.