Analysis: NFL hopes for normality in 2021, starting at draft

Maybe the lack of competitiveness in the Super Bowl was a good sign for the NFL.

After a year in which the challenges of playing a full and barely interrupted season provided more than enough drama, Tom Brady and Tampa Bay's rout of the reigning champion Chiefs brought some ho-hum. The league would like nothing better than a return to normalcy in 2021— as much as that ever will be possible again.

“It’s too early to know what the 2021 season will look like, but the NFL will do its part to help our communities return to normal,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to fans. “We look forward to seeing you back at the games next fall, but in the meantime, thank you and stay safe.”

Some topics to consider as the league moves toward the opening of its '21 business year in March with free agency:

PROTOCOL CARRYOVERS

Goodell and Dr. Allen Sills, the league's chief medical officer, have indicated several of the COVID-19 protocols could remain even beyond the pandemic. Remote meetings and Zoom interviews, for example.

There's also the question of getting players vaccinated.

Last month, the NFL and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a scientific paper regarding what was learned during the 2020 season.

“The learnings we describe in our paper talk about things like the types of exposures associated with a very high risk of transmission of the virus. Those exposures can occur anywhere,” Sills explained. "They’re not specific to football.

“And along the way, we learned how we can evolve our protocols to put in the maximum amount of safety for everyone involved, whatever that group environment may be," he added. “Those are important lessons that we learned through our NFL experience, but can broadly inform the rest of society.”

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