Report: NFL has flexibility to delay '20 schedule

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the NFL could delay the season by several weeks
and still play a full slate. The schedule is also flexible enough to start at
any point and play through the resumption of the season if needed.

For example, if guidelines restrict games into October, the NFL could opt to
either move Week 1 of the season back to the new, approved start date. Or it
could scrap the lost weeks on the schedule and begin at Week 5, playing
through Week 17.

Competitive imbalance is possible because of bye weeks depending on the
scenario set in motion as the league attempts to grapple with the uncertainty
caused by the coronavirus.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 7 in Tampa, Fla., but Raymond James
Stadium could host the game "weeks later" according to Schefter.

Shifting the schedule back could also cause a delay in the start of the 2021
league year and draft-related events such as the Senior Bowl and scouting
combine. The timing of the pre-draft circuit already is expected to be
impacted by the construction of the college football schedule.

--Field Level Media