The first date rookies can report to NFL training camp is Tuesday. The NFL still has questions from players about various safety protocols when practices begin again.
The NFL had plenty of time to prepare for the start of the camps, so the fact that there is still so much uncertainty this week is troubling. There will be a league meeting at 2 p.m. ET to discuss various security-related issues, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The news of the meeting came after many of the league’s star players tweeted their concerns about the lack of a clear safety plan when they return to work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Preseason on the league meeting agenda
One of the key points is the preseason. Players don’t want any game. The owners have narrowed it down to two games, but up to this point they have refused to cancel it entirely. The owners have proposed a preseason game. Maintaining even a preseason game seems like a strange battle, considering they are pointless games with no fans.
If there is no preseason, rookies trying to make the roster, or trying to impress other teams with a good gameplay movie, will be in a tough spot, and the league won’t be able to test several new protocols before the regular season. But players don’t see a reason to risk their health in games that don’t count.
The preseason is a topic to be discussed on Monday, but far from being the only one.
What do the owners meet on?
Homeowners must also finalize security protocols and “financial arrangements,” according to Schefter. There are also player concerns about an acclimatization period, to slowly increase to avoid injury after an offseason without official practice and practice.
The owners had plenty of time to clearly establish the best possible plan for starting the camps. In a Peter King NBC Sports column describing social distancing tests and protocols, the common theme was what happens when a player or coach tests positive and results take 24 hours to process.
“If the center tests positive on a Friday, and there is a quarantine period for all your close contacts … well, if I just came out of practice where I have been in a meeting with all my offensive teammates, I have been doing exercises Singles with all my linemen, and then blocking defensive linemen and linebackers all afternoon, aren’t we talking about 35 guys who are in close contact with me? Downtown Cleveland Browns and NFLPA President JC Tretter said According to King, “And if they are all quarantined for the next two days, what will Sunday’s game look like? You don’t have enough bodies to play on the field.”
The owners have not communicated well with the players, and have postponed many important issues of concern to the union. Maybe Monday will clear up some of those problems, but it seems like there is a lot to solve with the camp about to start.
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