With NFL players and coaches expected to meet in just over three weeks, the league sent a note to all teams on Friday detailing COVID-19 protocol for training camp and preseason .
Developed in association with the NFL Players Association, the note from Commissioner Roger Goodell outlines the steps teams must take regarding the treatment and testing of the new coronavirus.
Teams will need to follow up on contacts if a person is positive or has symptoms of the virus. Anyone near an infected person should be tested for eight consecutive days – regardless of the test result – while a person who tests positive should stay away from team facilities for at least minus 10 days, unless the test is negative twice in a five-day period after a positive test. Doctors should screen out anyone who tests positive before returning to the site.
During the training camp, players and coaches will be invited to organize meetings virtually or outside. All team employees must wear masks inside the facility, while players and staff must make a social distance of at least six feet from each other, even when inside the cloakroom. Strength training and conditioning sessions will be limited to 15 people, while teams are allowed to have up to 110 people – all required to wear masks – in a traveling game for a road game.
An agreement has not yet been reached on the players’ ability to withdraw from the season due to health concerns, which several players in the NBA, MLB and NHL have already done. The NFLPA reportedly voted to completely cancel the two-game pre-season – which has already been cut in half – to make up for team training sessions and missed camps in the spring and summer.
Although fans and visitors are not allowed to participate in training camp, the league allows teams to host up to two events with fans in their respective stadiums, if local health regulations allow. In such a scenario, fans would be dispersed throughout the building and would not be allowed to sit in the first eight rows. Members of the media will not be allowed to interview players in person.
All team employees are subject to sanctions if anyone refuses to follow health and safety protocols. Both the league and the NFLPA are authorized to conduct surprise inspections to enforce the new policies.
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