How the potential of no Seahawks preseason games affects 2020

The NFLPA voted to have no preseason games in 2020 due to COVID-19. How could this affect the Seattle Seahawks 2020 season?

The NFLPA doesn’t want players to be involved in 2020 preseason games. Can you blame them? COVID-19 is not backing off. Neither should the NFLPA. Holding any games, really, could affect a team’s health. So how will this affect the Seahawks in 2020?

First off, the NFL has already cut its normal preseason from four games to two. This is two-fold. When seasons begin to expand in 2021 to 17 games, there will be fewer preseason games. But because of COVID-19, all games are at risk of not being played.

No preseason games makes it more difficult for undrafted rookies to make the team. The Seahawks have had really good success with UDFAs since Pete Carroll became the head coach. But this also means rookies get fewer reps and are less prepared to help this year.

Rookies not playing preseason games

This issue with rookies not being prepared is going to be a global problem for the NFL. Teams with good and veteran quarterbacks will have an easier time than say the Bengals with rookie quarterback Joe Burrows. So the Seahawks should be good with Russell Wilson.

But in certain position groups, like tight end and linebacker, where rookies are trying to make the team and prove they are worthy of getting bunches of snaps, this is difficult. What if Pete Carroll makes the decision to keep Colby Parkinson, for instance, and cut Jacob Hollister based on the fact that Parkinson could potentially help the Seahawks for several years while Hollister could be gone after 2020.

Then what if Parkinson is a complete bust and Hollister duplicates his 2019 production of 41 catches with some other team for a couple of seasons? With no preseason games, getting a read on a team is much more difficult.

Or what if the Seahawks cut Shaquem Griffin and keep Jordyn Brooks and Griffin joins some other team that has more imagination in how to use his special skill-set and Griffin gets 8 sacks? And Seattle keeps Brooks just because of his potential and he ends up being a bust.

Of course, with COVID-19 being safe is the right thing to do so if there are no games played to keep players safe then that is the way it should be. But the ramifications of no preseason games could be felt in 2020 and well beyond.