Many Details Still TBD for Houston Texans 2020 Season
By Tex.Org Contributor Alyson Seeger
The 2020 NFL season is guaranteed to be different thanks to COVID-19, but officials still haven’t come to a full agreement on what it’s going to look like yet. Negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA (NFL Players’ Association) have been slow going thus far. Despite this, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs rookies were expected to report to training camps on July 20, with the rest of the players in the league reporting by July 28. No fans or visitors are allowed during training camps.
Technically, players could be disciplined if they do not report, but it would be possible for the NFLPA to file a grievance on their behalf if they don’t feel that safety guidelines were properly established. The first two days of training simply consist of COVID-19 tests. Players cannot start on team activities until they have two negative tests in a row.
Houston Texans Schedule 2020 Safety Precautions for Covid 19
Infectious Disease Emergency Response (IDER) plans will cover the testing procedures and what the process will be when someone tests positive for COVID-19. These plans have been drafted and submitted for all 32 teams but what these plans consist of hasn’t been made public yet. It is clear that players will be tested often and they will be social distancing as much as you can during a high-contact sport, but the concrete details are still lacking.
Many players league-wide are expressing their concerns about this season on Twitter using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay. Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt is one of the players who has been very vocal about wanting clear protocols in place. Wide receiver Randall Cobb also used the hashtag, seemingly frustrated to share that they still don’t have definitive answers on safety procedures for this season. On July 19, Cobb tweeted, “…#WeWantToPlay but we also want to keep our families safe.”
Justin Reid, Texans safety, was previously quoted as saying that he thought delaying the season could be beneficial. Reid also said he would be willing to wear a full face-shield if that was mandated by the league, even though it would probably make playing more difficult. J.J. Watt, however, has said he’d rather sit out than play with a full face shield.
It is likely that players will be allowed to opt out of the season with advanced written notice if they’re uncomfortable playing during the pandemic, but what that process will look like is still being discussed. The NFL has proposed that once a player opts out of the season, which must be done by August 1, they cannot reverse their decision. The player also cannot enter into negotiations with their team if they’ve opted out, but they can still be traded.
A definitive decision on how many (if any) preseason games will be played has yet to be made, but it’s not likely to be all four currently on the schedule. The NFL’s latest proposal to the NFLPA consists of holding just one preseason game, played during the week of August 27, but the NFLPA is still pushing for no preseason games with a longer acclimation period. As such, the Houston Texans’ very-subject-to-change 2020 schedule is below:
Houston Texans Preseason Schedule
| Week 1 | Friday | August 14 | at Minnesota Vikings | 7:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 2 | Saturday | August 22 | vs. Seattle Seahawks | 7:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 3 | Saturday | August 29 | at New Orleans Saints | 7:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 4 | Thursday | September 3 | Vs. Dallas Cowboys | 7:00 p.m. CDT |
| Houston Texans Regular Season |
|---|
| Week 1 | Thursday | September 10 | at Kansas City Chiefs | 7:20 p.m. CDT |
| Week 2 | Sunday | September 20 | vs. Baltimore Ravens | 3:25 p.m. CDT |
| Week 3 | Sunday | September 27 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 12:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 4 | Sunday | October 4 | vs. Minnesota Vikings | 12:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 5 | Sunday | October 11 | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | 12:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 6 | Sunday | October 18 | at Tennessee Titans | 12:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 7 | Sunday | October 25 | vs. Green Bay Packers | 12:00 p.m. CDT |
| Week 8 | Sunday | BYE | ||
| Week 9 | Sunday | November 8 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | 12:00 p.m. CST |
| Week 10 | Sunday | November 15 | at Cleveland Browns | 12:00 p.m. CST |
| Week 11 | Sunday | November 22 | vs. New England | 12:00 p.m. CST |
| Week 12 | Thursday | November 26 | at Detroit Lions | 11:30 a.m. CST |
| Week 13 | Sunday | December 6 | vs. Indianapolis Colts | 12:00 p.m. CST |
| Week 14 | Sunday | December 13 | at Chicago Bears | 12:00 p.m. CST |
| Week 15 | Sunday | TBD | ||
| Week 16 | Sunday | December 27 | at Cincinnati Bengals | 12:00 p.m. CST |
| Week 17 | Sunday | January 3 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 12:00 p.m. CST |