The NFL went through a weird, limited year in 2020, one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic roiling the world and leading to lockdowns, restrictions and other cautionary measures designed to prevent more widespread infection than the world already had on its hands. That season saw the league suffer significant revenue loss, juggle games after outbreaks and generally upend a lot of things that had been standard on the NFL calendar for a long time.
The league is just as keen as the rest of us to put COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, in other words, but the realization that we’re a long way away from getting there has had plenty of time to sink in.