Will we see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the field in 2020?

We take a look at the complicated situation surrounding the nearing 2020 NFL season and see if it’s feasible the Buccaneers can play a full season.

This week marks the first week of training camp, and there has to be a lot of excitement in the air.

We are getting to see new faces around the facilities via social media, building the hype around the team.

The thought of a Super Bowl championship is undoubtedly going through every Bucs fan’s mind and even players for that matter.

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But then the thoughts of COVID-19 set in, and it’s hard to imagine the Buccaneers and the rest of the NFL being able to complete this season.

The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, most notably in Florida. If one player were to be infected and asymptomatic, it would spread like wildfire among a football team.

An outbreak on any team could set them back weeks, and if it occurs during the regular season, games will be rescheduled/canceled.

The NFL has struggled to outline clear safety protocols for everyone to follow; it is mainly mandating what their players should do. Tom Brady, Donovan Smith, and many other players around the league have voiced their concerns over this issue.

Nonetheless, these players are reporting to camps, which is a positive sign.

The NFL will not be playing in a bubble, like the NBA and NHL, which draws concerns, especially with the issues major league baseball is facing in their first week back.

18 Miami Marlins players have tested positive as well as a handful on the coaching and team staff, and new reports say the Philadelphia Phillies could have recently escaped a scare as well.

The rumors have flown about why the cases were so rampant with the Marlins, but either way, they have shown the difficulty of keeping the virus from spreading through a team.

If things can get this bad in a non-contact sport, what can we expect when it inevitably happens in the NFL?

For the NFL to play this season, players will have to be extremely disciplined in their activity away from football. And of course, there needs to be clear guidelines set for the possibility of a COVID-19 spread among teams.

In all likelihood, we will see the Buccaneers take the field because, in the end the NFL will wait for nobody.