Green Bay Packers team president Mark Murphy is confident the NFL has the “most comprehensive” testing protocols in place for the start of the 2020 season, giving the NFL season a real chance to work without an actual bubble structure.
The NFL has talked about creating a “virtual bubble” with rigorous testing and player conduct protocols. Murphy expanded on the idea, and the testing measures put in place, in his monthly question and answer post at Packers.com.
“The league’s testing protocol is the most comprehensive of all the testing programs in professional sports. Players will be required to test negative three times in a four-day period before being allowed to enter the facility. Once they are in the facility, players will be tested daily for two weeks,” Murphy explained. “If the team’s positive rate is less than 5% after two weeks, the testing will drop down to every other day. If a player tests positive, he will immediately be removed from the facility to focus on treatment and minimize the risk of the virus spreading to other players.”
Murphy also stressed the importance of physical distancing, sanitized hands and mask-wearing indoors. Also, all players will wear a tracking device to help the Packers know which players are distancing correctly and help contact tracing should the virus affect a team.
Like the NFL, Murphy remains cautiously optimistic that the league can pull it off, even as MLB struggles with postponements and cancelations due to the spreading virus.
“I have confidence, though, in our medical experts and believe that we have put together the protocols that will allow us to complete the season,” Murphy wrote. “Doug Collins, our director of security/risk management, is serving as our infection control officer. He’s done a great job keeping us updated on all the protocols and has ensured that our facilities are as safe as possible.”
The Packers will also have several different tiers of testing protocols for individuals working for the team and around the team during the season. Those working closest with players, coaches and other personnel will be tested on a regular basis.
Together, Murphy believes the team and the NFL have the protocols in place to play a season. And he’s confident that playing the season is the right decision.
“I do think it is worth it to play this season because of the confidence I have in the plan that our medical experts have established,” Murphy wrote.
Murphy also touched on potential competitive imbalances between teams with varying attendance rules at home games but brushed off the impact of such a situation. The Packers, for instance, are planning for a maximum of 10,000-12,000 fans at Lambeau Field, and that’s if any fans are allowed at games. Other teams, like the two New York teams, won’t have fans in 2020.
“Although the situation is inequitable, I do not think the teams with fans in the stadiums will have a big advantage,” Murphy wrote.
The Packers are scheduled to open the season against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 13.
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