PHILADELPHIA – Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson said “it’s definitely going to be a culture shock” if NFL teams have to play in empty stadiums this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, but if that is the case, he believes players should be mic’d up to give fans a behind-the-scenes look they normally don’t get.
“I think they should [mic up players]. They should give fans the inside to see what really goes on between the white lines,” Jackson said on teammate Lane Johnson’s “Outside the Lane” podcast. “It gets crazy, bro. I know in the trenches it gets crazy. And I know on the outside, too, it gets crazy, the conversations we go back and forth on.”
The NFL continues to plan for a 2020 season while “being prepared to address any contingencies as they arise,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo last month. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told CNBC he believes “there definitely will be a football season this year. Real question is, will there be fans in the stadium? Right now — today — we’re planning to have fans in the stadium.”
Given the unique circumstances, the Pittsburgh Steelers are holding back 50 percent of their individual game ticket sales inventory in consideration of possible social distancing scenarios.
If fans aren’t able to attend games, Jackson said there will be a definite adjustment period for the players.
“At the end of the day, we’re all professionals, we’ll all adapt to it. It’ll be weird at first but hopefully they can figure out [an alternative] because I definitely think a lot of teams and players feed off the energy.”
Johnson offered an idea to help fill the void: personalized music blaring out of the loudspeakers for when each team is on offense.
“Maybe if they could give is a play list,” he said. “Each team has a play list and each time you’re up on the ball, that’s what you’re hearing.”