Whether or not the season starts on time, the NFL remains committed to playing a full slate of games in 2020. If that means pushing back the Super Bowl as far as April, so be it.
ESPN's Adam Schefter joined the Jamie and Stoney Show Wednesday morning to discuss the NFL's path forward amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus.
"I believe the league is 100 percent determined to get 16 games in," Schefter said. "Does that mean the league is starting on time? That I’m not as sure about. I’m supremely confident that they are determined to play 16. The key here is going to be the Super Bowl. I believe the Super Bowl is the secret sauce that makes all this possible."
Scheduled for Feb. 7, Schefter said the NFL could postpone Super Bowl LV one month, if necessary, and "take the first four weeks of the season and fold them into the back of the schedule." The league did something similar in the wake of 9/11, shifting Week 2 of the season to Week 18 and pushing back the Super Bowl one week.
"I believe the blueprint for this year is from 2001," said Schefter.
Option A, of course, would be starting the season as planned Sept. 10 in Kansas City and playing uninterrupted into February. The Lions are slated to kick things off Sept. 13 at home against Chicago. But the NFL is prepared to delay kickoff for as long as two months if it allows for a 16-game schedule.
"The Super Bowl could go into March, it could go into April," Schefter said. "If it means pushing back the season four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks, the league I believe will be prepared to do that. But I feel confident it is going to attempt to play 16 games.