Detroit Lions: Depth will be one of the biggest keys to the 2020 season

Preparing for this season is a difficult challenge

Early this past week seventh-round draft pick Jashon Cornell was carted off the practice field with what Matt Patricia categorized as a pretty serious Achilles injury. Two days later he was put on the injured reserve. Cornell was considered a good fit for Matt Patricia’s system, but there wasn’t any guarantee he was going to make the final roster.

However, this only highlights what will be each team’s biggest fear; injuries.

Now I realize that injuries are a concern any year, but with the conditions that each team will be preparing under this season, it becomes more of a concern.

With no preseason games for players to hit and be hit in, combined with trying to find the right recipe for training camp to get the players ready for the season while doing their best to avoid injury, it’s a difficult challenge.

When asked about preparing for the season, Matt Patricia said he had spoken to some collegiate coaches he has a connection with to discuss their methods for preparing for the college season. The reason is that college football has no exhibition season and must prepare themselves for opening day in the same manner that the NFL is this year.

This wasn’t a bad thought process and quite frankly I tend to think that many other NFL coaches have referenced the college game the same way to formulate their preparation for the season.

However, the game of football is still a contact sport. It’s a game of collisions. Injuries can happen in the first game of the season or the finale. They also have a higher degree of happening if the body isn’t conditioned to hitting.

So the question is; what is the best way to get the players conditioned to the physicality of the sport without just telling the players to swing away every practice?

Whoever figures out that fine line to have their players conditioned to hitting and can enter the season healthy, will have done everything possible to be prepared to actually play football.