Hall of Fame game cancellation bad for Cleveland Browns season outlook
By Randy Gurzi
Could the Cleveland Browns and NFL season be in jeopardy still?
2020 has been a difficult year and it’s not as if everything is behind us yet. The COVID-19 pandemic is still far from being contained and while the Cleveland Browns and the rest of the NFL teams are hoping for the season to go as planned, there could be more obstacles.
We are already seeing this as the league decided to pull on the upcoming Hall of Fame Game. Originally scheduled to be played on Aug. 6 in Canton between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, the preseason game will not take place.
The news was first broken by ESPN’s Adam Schefter who also says the annual Hall of Fame enshrinement will also be postponed.
The Dallas Cowboys-Pittsburgh Steelers preseason opener at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6 is being canceled and the Hall of Fame's enshrinement ceremony on Aug. 8 is being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, league sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 25, 2020
The cancellation of the game isn’t a huge shock as the league has been toying with the idea of shortening the preseason from four games to just two. It should always be two games, but the reasoning for that possibly happening this season is totally different than the regular two-game argument.
What’s more interesting is that the league is also canceling the enshrinement ceremony. This is being done as an abundance of caution due to the remaining threat of COVID-19, which makes the start of the regular season seem to be in question as well.
If the NFL is of the belief that an August ceremony and preseason game is too risky, then how can they be so sure the start to the season in September will be safe?
Next. Breaking down Browns and the AFC North. dark
As it has been all offseason, the league schedule is a fluid situation right now and the latest development means we aren’t in the clear to see the season begin on time.