The start of the 2020 NFL season is just around the corner with the Los Angeles Rams reporting for training camp at the end of July.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the 2020 season will certainly be an unusual one. All teams have been forced to conduct all offseason business, including the draft, virtually to remain safe.
Additionally, fans aren’t expected to be in attendance at stadiums throughout the season unless local laws allow it, which is unlikely considering cases are continuing to spike all throughout the country. The Rams have come out and said that they do no expect fans in attendance at the new SoFi Stadium in 2020.
Despite all of the restrictions in place, the goal for the Rams of returning to the postseason and winning the Super Bowl remains in place. With so many new additions to the roster, it won’t be easy considering the lack of on-field workouts.
Teams typically hold joint practices with other organizations during training camp to get extra reps in, although that also will not be allowed this year. There also has been discussion about shortening the preseason from four to two weeks, and according to ProFootballTalk, the NFL is following through with that this year:
Week One and Week Four will be the preseason weeks that are scrapped, per source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 1, 2020
The Rams were set to host the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the preseason, the opening of SoFi Stadium, and travel to take on the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4. If those games are scrapped then that would leave a road game against the Los Angeles Chargers and a home game against the Denver Broncos as the team’s lone 2020 preseason contests.
That would mean that the Chargers would be the first home team in SoFi Stadium’s history, with the Rams being the visitors in the first game in their new stadium.
Considering the Rams don’t play their starters in the preseason, these changes are not drastic. Jared Goff even recently said that he supports it.
Who it will affect the most though is the players on the bubble of making the roster that want as many game reps as possible to prove what they are capable of.
