Report: NFL preseason cut in half

According to a report from Pro Football Talk, the NFL plans to announce that the 2020 preseason will be cut from four games to two, with games one and four chopped from the schedule.

For the Chicago Bears, this means that the Saturday, August 15 game against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field and the Thursday, September 3 game in Tennessee against the Titans will no longer be played.

The Bears are left with a Saturday, August 22 game in Denver against the Broncos, and a Saturday, August 29 game at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

“The move was driven by two primary factors,” according to PFT’s Mike Florio. “First, teams who will be playing preseason games on the road won’t want to move that many people. Second, given that no teams had on-field practice sessions in the offseason, coaches would rather have the extra time to work with their teams, and that will happen if they don’t have to worry about two extra preseason games.”

The annual preseason opening Hall of Fame game has already been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and teams have been notified that they aren’t permitted to hold any joint practices this offseason. The Bears were set to practice in Colorado with the Broncos the week leading up to their preseason game.

The NFL has also cancelled the supplemental draft.

The league is still planning to allow teams to open training camps on July 28, with the regular season set to start on Thursday, September 10.