Report: NFL was ready to cancel Seahawks-Rams game, until NFLPA stepped in

The 2021 season for the Seattle Seahawks had been on the ropes for several weeks prior to the 20-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15 Tuesday evening, but those hopes effectively died when refs decided to eat their whistle on a crucial fourth quarter fourth down. However, a new report Wednesday morning indicates those playoff hopes might have stayed alive a bit longer if things had been up to the league, and if the union had not stepped in.

For those unfamiliar with J.C. Tretter, in addition to being the starting center for the Cleveland Browns, he is the President of the NFL Players Association. And Wednesday morning this is what Tretter had to say on why the league opted to reschedule not just the Seahawks-Rams matchup, but the Washington Football Team-Philadelphia Eagles game and the Las Vegas Raiders-Cleveland Browns matchup.

As Tretter notes , under the COVID Amendment to the CBA, if games had to be cancelled players for neither team would be paid for the week. However, what Tretter leaves out is the part of the COVID Amendment that stipulates that if a game is cancelled due to an outbreak, the team with the outbreak is deemed to have forfeited the game.

Thus, the NFL was ready to award the Seahawks a key divisional victory over the Rams, and the only reason it did not is because the union executive committee voted unanimously against it.

So, for those Seahawks fans who want to know who the members of the executive committee that cost Seattle a freebie are, they are:

• JC Tretter, President (Center, Cleveland Browns)
• Sam Acho, Vice President (Retired)
• Lorenzo Alexander, Vice President (Retired)
• Calais Campbell, Vice President (Defensive End, Baltimore Ravens)
• Malcolm Jenkins, Vice President (Safety, New Orleans Saints)
• Alex Mack, Treasurer (Center, San Francisco 49ers)
• Thomas Morstead, Vice President (Punter, Atlanta Falcons)
• Richard Sherman, Vice President (Cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Michael Thomas, Vice President (Safety, Cincinnati Bengals)
• Ben Watson, Vice President (Retired)

So, for those who want to be able to direct hate and vitriol at the NFL for the rescheduling of the game against the Rams, which allowed both Jalen Ramsey and Von Miller to return instead of simply giving Seattle a forfeit win, that anger may be better directed at the members of the NFLPA Executive Committee rather than the league, at least according to the president of the union.