[Otto-matic]

https://www.cfl.ca/2017/09/13/cfl-cf...player-safety/

TORONTO — Eliminating full contact padded practices during the season and moving to a longer, 21-week schedule are major advances that will reduce the risk of injury by delivering more rest and less physical wear and tear for players, says the Canadian Football League and the Canadian Football Players Association.

“Today, we stand shoulder to shoulder on the important issue of player health and safety,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League.

The league and the players’ union have agreed to the following two changes:

• Effective immediately and for the 2018 season, the number of full contact padded practices allowed per team once training camps have been completed will be reduced from 17 to zero.
• Starting in 2018, the CFL schedule will expand from 20 to 21 weeks, to allow athletes more time to rest and recuperate between games. The schedule will still consist of 18 games.

This means each CFL team will have three bye weeks each season instead of two.

And while it’s impossible to exactly project the precise impact until teams have submitted their available stadium dates for 2018 and a schedule is put in place, preliminary modelling suggests the number of short weeks (teams playing on less than six days of rest) could be cut by two-thirds.

My only hope is they push the season up earlier.