NFL: Is The Preseason Now Useless?

When it comes to the NFL, preseason has become an outdated event. Teams don’t play their starters but one series in the first game, one quarter in the second, and maybe a half of the third. There is no more 4th preseason game but those were the ones that most players taking the field were on their way out the door. Preseason serves only to strengthen the skill set of rookies who need a little more work and veteran players who are typically gap fillers while the rookies or next draft class catches up. So why does the preseason even exist in the NFL anymore?

Isn’t it time the league switches to a summer league or minor league like the rest of the sports have? Of course, you could argue that the NFL is a more physical game and thus more prone to injuries, but that argument doesn’t even make sense. These guys are already playing 3 games at full speed and still have the risk of injury. The real problem is that despite making the most revenue than any other professional sport, the NFL doesn’t want to pay up to support a new league. No, they’d rather keep trying to expand into other markets in other countries.

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As it stands right now, joint practices between teams is already taking place of preseason games for starters. Most teams have bleachers at practice facilities, why not let these guys practice all week together and set up Friday or Saturday night games between the back half of the roster? Instead of all these crazy travel schedules and rotating preseason games can’t we have 6-8 joint practices scheduled for each team in the summer and at the end of the week those teams have their “preseason” games? It has to be more cost-efficient than spending the resources to utilize 1/4 full stadiums.

At this point, most teams’ practice facilities cost more than stadiums did when the NFL debuted. They have the facilities to accommodate players already. Why are we suffering through preseason with the hopes of seeing how good our favorite team looks when at least 75% of the preseason the main roster won’t be playing? The strategy for preseason is no longer acceptable for today’s NFL and it’s time to reconsider how to go about it.