The Pro Football Hall of Fame reportedly has contingency plans for the HOF game

Soon enough we will know the full 2020 NFL schedule. We put together some predictions for what we think the Cowboys’ slate of games will look like if you’re interested. This will give us our first opportunity to fully look and think about what the 2020 season will look like for America’s Team. While we already know who the Cowboys play, the when of it all is always fascinating.

The last NFL game played was Super Bowl LIV, and just before it we found out that former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson is going to be part of this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Class. It’s a long overdue honor for Johnson, and to celebrate his future bronze bust, the league announced that the Dallas Cowboys would be playing in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

Dallas is set to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers (Bill Cowher is also part of this year’s class) in the HOF game, but obviously when/if that will happen is in question.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has contingency plans for the HOF game

As things currently stand, the HOF game is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 6th at 8 PM ET (it was moved to Thursday a few years ago after the game was cancelled when the field was ruled unsafe after the Saturday ceremony). It makes sense for the Hall to be considering other options, though.

According to USA Today, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is doing just that. President David Baker explained that there are a couple of contingency plans in place.

“We’re not going to do anything that’s not safe,” Baker said on Monday. “But I do hope that we can lead in showing that this can be done in a way that will inspire us.”

Baker acknowledged that the most essential elements of any decision by the Hall would be preceded by clearance from health and medical experts, government officials and the NFL. While the Baseball Hall of Fame last week announced cancellation of its July 25 enshrinement ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York, Baker is still hopeful of keeping the Hall’s signature – and most lucrative – weekend intact.

One possibility: Push the game and ceremony to a point later in August if the NFL scales back the preseason.

If the preseason as a whole is delayed then obviously it makes sense for the HOF to delay this game specifically. Whether or not that would include a delay of the overall ceremony remains to be seen, there are already reportedly going to be two different ceremonies to honor the larger-than-normal class as this year the Hall is enshrining a bigger “Centennial Class” on the heels of the NFL’s 100th season.

Among all possibilities listed apparently the Hall could delay things to Easter Weekend of 2021 or just combine everything altogether in 2021 as a different option. Obviously there is a lot to figure out between now and then, and as mentioned, it is smart to consider different routes if things go different ways. Safety is clearly the number one priority.

We will keep you updated as more information on this becomes available in the coming months.