Although nothing is official at this point, earlier this week the NFL proposed not playing any preseason games after lobbying from the NFLPA and the players themselves over safety concerns. Although the league had been mulling reducing the number of preseason games, essentially canceling the preseason would still be somewhat surprising.
What does this mean for the regular season? Does this make it more or less likely teams will be able to play all 16 regular season games? It’s too early to tell at this point. Canceling football games—exhibition or not—is an ominous sign, but this gives players and teams more time to adequately plan for how the regular season would work.