The NFL has reached a crossroads. There is a perfect storm brewing consisting of a new progressive mindset about football, player safety, and consumer happiness. This storm could give way to the elimination of some preseason games which could send the dominos toppling with regard to other changes on the horizon. The elimination of preseason games has been a topic of conversation for years now, but no owners in their right mind would accept the financial benefits of giving a mediocre product to the fans at premium prices. Why eliminate the preseason games when you can play your starters briefly followed by backups and roster bubble players and still charge regular season price. Before there was not a swirl of public opinion and player safety issues that are at present at the forefront of conversation. More importantly, big time investments have taken hits, quite literally, and the franchises and owners suffer because of it.
Some owners do truly care about their players, but in their eyes (as owners of a business) when they talk about player safety what it really means is protecting their investment. It is a rather cold way to view complex human beings but when it boils down to it that's what players are to a team- investments. Life after football is not at the forefront of minds as is winning a division title or extending a deep run in the playoffs whatever the cost.
We saw this with RG3, who after being hobbled was sent back onto the field by his coaches only to have his ACL shredded later that game. The coaches made a calculated gamble choosing winning over player safety and they got neither. Flash forward to this preseason and the numerous injuries, some serious and some minor, were sustained by starters that are surely going to cause owners and coaches alike to question whether playing preseason games is really worth the cost. Washington's starting running back Matt Jones sprained his AC Joint keeping him out of practices and contests for the following three to four weeks. Tony Romo, franchise quarterback for America's Team, was playing a meaningless preseason game after suffering not one but two broken collarbones. He promptly broke his back and is now expected to miss six to ten weeks leaving the fate of a "playoff caliber" team in the hands of rookie Dak Prescott. Tight end Ben Watson was coming off a career year and a new contract with the Ravens. On the first play of a preseason game he tore his achilles further straining Baltimore's already thin depth at the position.
The Chargers have had seven people go on injured reserve this preseason; The Cowboys eight (if you include Romo). All in all, the NFL has had 84 total players go on injured reserve due to activities from this preseason. That total is absolutely ridiculous when it is considered how meaningless these preseason games are. Coaches think they could do better without games and instead doing joint practices with other teams (which has become a very common practice). But unfortunately the coaches don't have much of a say- that power lies with the owners. Players are getting injured before they play a single meaningful snap. Fans are paying regular season prices for preseason games just to keep their season tickets. Owners know they are selling a watered-down version of their product and the prices should reflect as much. And that doesn't mean lowering preseason prices and raising regular season prices (looking at you, Bengals) it means giving honest value to the fans for what they are getting in return. To put it in owner terms: investments are taking hard hits, the market is frustrated and vocal. In a time of NFL progression, it is time to finally make a change. This does not necessarily mean eliminating all preseason games- perhaps two is an adequate number to get live game reps. But it does mean protecting more than just assets- it means protecting players, real people and the fans because these two groups are the life-blood of the organization and without them, the owners have nothing.
