As the Detroit Lions prepare for training camp, there are still a handful of talented players available in the free-agent market that could help the team succeed in 2020. Guys like Everson Griffen, Jadeveon Clowney or even a comeback from Mike Daniels could make an impact on this Detroit team.
But aside from concerns about the salary cap this year and next, Lions general manager Bob Quinn explained why adding a free agent right now is not as simple as it would normally be at this time of year.
“As it stands now, we cannot take a player to a test,” Quinn said in a video conference on Wednesday. “We can’t bring in a free agent player for a test as it is now.” The league is working on this, and they’re supposed to be letting us know how we can do that. ”
Right now, the only thing NFL teams can do with players they are considering adding through free agency or swaps is take them to a physical at an off-site location. However, teams may not take such players to the organization’s facilities to keep the site safe from COVID-19.
Obviously, the NFL is working to establish protocols to make on-site evaluations safe, but it is unclear what the timeline is. Quinn said he had a meeting with the league on Tuesday and they expressed the team’s urgency to have these safeguards in place.
Another complication of the process is what happens when a player signs up? What processes have to pass before entering the population of a team that has already gone through rigorous COVID-19 tests?
“The onboarding process of claiming a player, trading for a player, signing a free agent during the season, all of that, honestly, I don’t have much information about it, because they haven’t told us,” Quinn said. “That is a completely different protocol from the protocol established for players who are actually on your list. “
So for now, it looks like the Lions will be in a waiting pattern when it comes to adding new players. This also explains the Lions’ decision to stick with the 90-man roster and divide the squads instead of reducing the roster to 80 players. Without a clear way to safely add players, it makes sense to keep its Players around to compensate in case of injury or positive COVID-19 tests.
There’s simply not enough information on how to safely add new players, and Quinn made it clear that protecting players and staff from the virus is a top priority.
