Could NFL future be more joint practices, fewer preseason games?

After two days of work in Santa Clara, California between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, consensus among the assembled coaches, media, and executives seemingly indicates the future of the NFL may go the way of more joint practices — and perhaps less preseason games.

On Wednesday, 49ers general manager John Lynch pointed to the three tandem practices Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots scheduled this season, and said if it’s productive, “it’s the best thing you can do.”

“When you practice against each other all the time, our defensive players are calling out our offensive plays,” Lynch said. “You get to know, you know the audibles, and so you’re going up against something where it’s not scripted. It’s completely unscripted.

“You don’t know everything that they’re doing. It’s just true competition. It really is as close to a game as possible.”

Lynch said it could be unproductive if it becomes a melee, which Thursday’s practice trended toward at times, but he didn’t think “you could get enough of this” if you handle it in a professional manner.

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph echoed a similar sentiment after practice on Thursday.

“I think it works for you if you can do it without the fighting and the pushing and shoving,” Joseph said. “It’s great work for teams to see a different scheme and for players as far as the evaluation process.”

However, fitting in more than one in a preseason is a tough ask, Joseph said, due to travel but he’s open to more in the future.

“Having more than one is sometimes tough as far as traveling and who you’re playing in the preseason,” Joseph said. “One is good with me right now. Maybe two next year, but it’s all good.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.