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We’re getting reports of some news coming in as we’re. . .again. . .just two days away from rookies, quarterbacks, and a few others reporting to Eagan for the start of camp for your Minnesota Vikings.
The first bit of news comes from Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, which solidifies news that had come out yesterday:
NFLPA leadership told players on a conference call a few minutes ago there will be zero preseason games this year, sources say. Not a surprise given the league offered that but now all but official, according to the union.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 21, 2020
The league reportedly offered this option to the players yesterday, and because that’s what the players wanted all along it sounds like they jumped on it. That means that the next time we see NFL football, the games will actually count.
There’s also some news regarding roster sizes, according to Ian Rapoport:
In a call with players today, NFLPA leadership said roster sizes are expected to be 80 to start camp, source said. Not a surprise, GMs are working under this assumption.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 21, 2020
That’s not a huge deal if GMs are already working under that assumption. It does, however, throw a little cold water on a potential Everson Griffen reunion with the Vikings (or a Dre Kirkpatrick/Mike Zimmer reunion, which there’s been a bit of buzz about).
The Vikings currently have 87 players on their roster, including their 15 draft picks. That means that, between now and the start of camp, seven of those guys are going to get their walking papers. As we talked about yesterday, the guys most likely to be hit are going to be some of the undrafted free agents the Vikings signed after the draft. Less camp time and no preseason games mean that teams are going to want players that are ready to go Week 1, and a veteran just gives the team a better chance of that than a rookie does, particularly ones that the team didn’t use draft capital on.
Also, as Courtney Cronin of ESPN points out, the league is still considering expanding practice squads from 12 to 16 players. Nothing has been finalized on that yet, however.
We’re tracking all of these developments, as always, and we’ll bring more news to you as soon as it comes down.