‘Unhappy’ about playing Tuesday, Baltimore Ravens reportedly threatened strike

No new positives resulted in Monday’s round of returned tests, which essentially meant the Steelers-Ravens game was on (as rescheduled) for Tuesday night.

Not so fast.

Per Pro Football Talk, Baltimore Ravens players were refusing to play given that 20 players are on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun added that his source said the NFL offered a compromise instead of having a strike on their hands.

A strike, or refusal to play, would’ve been very costly for the NFL not only from a monetary standpoint but legally. According to PFT, the league would argue the strike violated both the CBA and agreement the players and league made to proceed with the season. A counterclaim from the NFL Players Association could’ve easily been argued that there’s a safety risk not allowing the Ravens ample time to prepare for the Steelers game.

“The stakes would potentially be very high,” wrote Florio. “The NFL, based on financial losses absorbed to date in 2020, could choose to rip up the agreement that allows the season to be played and scrap the balance of the season. Although that’s highly unlikely, the source made it clear that this possibility is squarely on the NFLPA’s radar-screen of potential concerns, in large part because no one knows how much money the various teams truly are or aren’t making (or losing) this season. If the league is swimming in red ink, this could be an easy way to stop the bleeding.”

Thus, the NFL appears to continue to kowtow to the Ravens in order to proceed with the season.

Apparently, the game is now Wednesday afternoon. Until Tuesday, when the league moves it to Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to officially comment or acknowledge the third schedule change.

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