The NFL will consider opportunities for a postseason bubble that would further protect players, coaches and staff members against COVID-19 during the most important games of the season, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said Wednesday.
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton introduced the idea at a recent league committee meeting, Vincent said. The league made no commitments, and Vincent said he was not sure if it was something the league could do ‘legally’. But he reiterated that “all things are on the table” at the moment.
“We did not use the term ‘bubble’, ” Vincent said, ‘but that’ safe environment ‘to ensure there is no outside risk when teams start making out. [playoff] ride. … We told Coach Payton that it was something that both [chief medical officer Allen] Sills and the teams would investigate. These are things that we just need to be flexible about. “
Bubbles that isolate players, coaches and key employees of the local community have worked well for the NBA, WNBA, NHL and professional football. The NFL considered but ultimately decided against real market bubbles for the season, citing the relative practicality of what would be at least six months of isolation. Instead, it created what Sills called a “virtual football buffalo” consisting of strict protocols at team facilities and potential player discipline for risky behavior when they were away.
The approach has yielded strong early results, and since Tuesday, only 10 players have remained on the league’s COVID-19 reserve list. Some teams, including the Saints and Dallas Cowboys, have created voluntary bubbles for players during training camp that allow them to commute between a hotel and the training facility without significant exposure to the surrounding community.
In other league news Wednesday:
* Vincent confirmed that Commissioner Roger Goodell has formed a COVID-19 advisory board to assist in making some decisions during the season that would normally fall under the authority of the league commission. Vincent declined to appoint board members, but said they would help Goodell make decisions about possible schedule changes, delays, cancellations and other issues that could be of conflict to members of the league committee. .
* The NFL tweaked its protocol to eliminate testing for any person known to have tested positive in the past 90 days. The change reflects new CDC guidance that previously infected people retained immunity for at least three months. Although they will not be tested, these people will still be required to follow mask and other protocol for personal protective equipment.
* The league distributes travel and game-day protocols to teams this week. To minimize the number of people on the field for a game, the league has at all times excluded cheerleaders, mascots, sideline reporters and fans from the field.
* Sills said the league is tracking progress in quests, but gave no indication that it would switch from its current protocol of PCR testing. “Everything we do needs to be filtered through the lens to have the most accurate and efficient test we can,” he said.
* Sills said feedback “is mixed” on a plastic mask designed by Oakley that attaches to helmets and is designed to minimize the spread of the virus at practices and games. Concerns about the mask’s breathability have led Oakley to develop a new version that will be distributed soon, Sills said.
* There has been no decision on whether the league will continue the daily COVID-19 tests in the regular season, Sills said. The test appointment of the NFL and NFL Players Association expires Sept. 5, after which they must decide if they want to extend the daily tests, or, if infection rates remain low, reduce it to every other day.
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