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NFL proposes playing just one preseason game in 2020

The NFL reduced the number of preseason games it's seeking to be played in 2020.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday that the latest proposal to players includes just one preseason game, rather than two, per sources informed of the situation.

If approved, the one preseason game would take place the week of Aug. 27, which would have been the third week of the preseason in a normal year, per Pelissero.

As the NFL moved off its two preseason game desire over the weekend, the NFLPA still wants no preseason games and a longer acclimation period.

Holding one preseason game would allow for an extra week of preparation prior to games being played, which gets closer to the recommended 21-day ramp-up of strength and conditioning that players have been seeking, but not fully there.

On Sunday, NFL players coordinated a social media blitz, with many big-name players calling out the league for not fully establishing protocols in line with recommendations made by the joint medical committee that suggested a 48-day training camp with a 21-day strength and conditioning period.

The league's move from insisting on two preseason games could be viewed as a desire to acquiesce those players.

The NFL's wish to play two preseason games stemmed from the thought process that each team would need one home game to test out COVID-19 protocols. The league moving off that stance is a significant shift.

With the players still fighting for no preseason games, however, the plan is not yet cemented. The owners have scheduled a virtual meeting for Monday at 2 p.m. ET to discuss outstanding issues as camps prepare to open, NFL Network's Judy Battista reported.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport also reported that team doctors are also expected to resume performing physicals soon, once planned health and safety precautions are in place. The NFL Physicians Society had halted them in March for COVID-19.

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