NATIONWIDE — Just seeing Tom Brady wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform or the Raiders playing home games in Las Vegas instead of California would’ve been weird enough. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 NFL season will easily be the most surreal in the league's history. 

The season kicks off Thursday night when the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texas in front of about 17,000 people at Arrowhead Stadium.

Yes, just 17,000 — a number more suited for small-time college football than the multibillion-dollar NFL. And the Chiefs are actually one of the more fortunate teams when it comes to playing for their fans. 

Only six franchises — the Cleveland Browns, the Dallas Cowboys, the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins — are opening their stadiums to the public to start the season, but their seating capacities are being limited to anywhere from 3.5% to 25%.

The only crowd noise that’ll be heard anywhere else will be piped in through the PA system. All teams are hoping to welcome fans back at some point this season, even if they’re not filling up their stadiums.

"It will be wack. The fans make the sport,” Saints Pro Bowl offensive tackle Terron Armstead said last month, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser. “That is the biggest part of the game — the fans, the crowd, the energy, the momentum. It will be tough. That is a different challenge.”

The NFL is trying to become the first of the big four pro leagues to play a complete, uninterrupted season since the pandemic began. While it’s being cautious, it also knows coronavirus cases are inevitable.

Unlike the NBA and NHL, the NFL is not keeping its players in a “bubble.” But it is testing them all daily except on game days. The rigorous testing began when players reported to training camps, and the results have been encouraging. For example, in the final week of August, just four players and six other team employees tested positive.

The league has implemented a COVID-19 reserve list for players who have either tested positive or have come into close contact with someone who has. It also has expanded practice squads from 12 players to 16 in anticipation of active players being sidelined by the virus.

The NFL has some tough measures in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Among them are fines for players who act recklessly, such as by going to bars, nightclubs or parties without wearing a mask, or attending concerts or sporting events (other than their own) without a mask. 

There have been no known instances yet of players being fined for violating COVID-19 rules, although the Seattle Seahawks cut undrafted rookie cornerback Kemah Siverand after he reportedly tried to sneak a woman into the team hotel.

The league is taking other precautions, too, such as moving its London and Mexico City games back to the States, requiring masks inside team facilities, limiting the size of travel parties and sending just one player to midfield for the pregame coin toss. Players, however, will only be required to wear masks on the sidelines in San Francisco and Buffalo, per local regulations.

Don’t be surprised if the players seem rusty in Week 1. Because of COVID-19, the NFL canceled offseason training programs and all preseason games. That lack of prep time could be of the most concern for teams such as the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, all of whom are led by new head coaches who faced a time crunch in installing their new offensive and defensive systems.

It could also be a factor in new starting quarterbacks — including Brady in Tampa and No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow in Cincinnati — developing chemistry with their receivers. 

“Around the league, I think the first game may be a little sloppy, just because we weren’t able to have the preseason games,” Eagles linebacker Nate Gerry said last week, according to Heavy.com. “With live tackling, you can only do so much in practice, with being able to stay healthy on your team but obviously without getting those real-game reps.”

Gerry also noted that teams could have communication problems early in the season. 

Meanwhile, some teams are missing key players who were allowed to opt out this season over coronavirus concerns. Some of the stars sitting the year out are Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower, Patriots safety Patrick Chung, Giants offensive tackle Nate Solder, Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley, Chiefs running back Damien Williams and Dolphins wide receiver Allen Hurns.

Meanwhile, racial justice is expected to be a major theme this season. The words "End racism" and "It takes all of us" will be stenciled in end zones, and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black national anthem, will be played along with “The Star-Spangled Banner” before every Week 1 game. 

Expect to see some players kneeling during the national anthem, as they try to show unity with the protests that have followed the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others this year.

“I think we’re going to have guys kneeling, we’re going to have guys standing, and the biggest thing is that we’re all supporting each other,” Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott told ProFootballTalk.com. “We’re all supporting each other, and that’s what’s going to bring us all together.”

Such protests are likely to once again stir anger among fans who believe such demonstrations are disrespectful to the country and the flag. In 2017, President Donald Trump said players who kneel during the anthem should be fired, which was cheered by some Americans but prompted even more players to join in the protest in the weeks that followed.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is taking a much different tone this time around. In 2018, the league passed a rule that would fine teams if a player who was on the field did not stand during the national anthem. (They were given the option to remain in locker rooms.) But in June, Goodell released a video saying: “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter. I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country.”

In other words, don't expect that 2018 rule to be enforced.

It won't be clear until Sunday how prevalent the protests will be. At least one team — the Cincinnati Bengals — is considering staying in their locker room or kneeling together during the national anthem, according to reports Wednesday.