The Bills could be ready to hit the field, and soon.
According to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson, some NFL teams could return to facilities as early as next week — and that this action could lead the way to possible minicamps in June.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo already gave the green light for professional sports teams to start planning training camps last weekend.
“Starting today, all the New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps,” Cuomo said. “I believe sports that can come back without having people in the stadium, without having people in the arena, do it! Do it! Work out the economics if you can. We want you up. We want people to be able to watch sports to the extent people are still staying home. It gives people something to do. It’s a return to normalcy. So we are working and encouraging all sports teams to start their training camps as soon as possible, and we’ll work with them to make sure that can happen.”
But per Robinson, the key could be in California. One source told Robinson that if California Gov. Gavin Newsom opens the door to full team operations, that could lead the way for the NFL to start planning minicamps.
“If California is open for [team] operations soon, minicamps can still happen in June — probably late June, I’d think — but maybe even mid-June,” the report said.
Another source told Robinson that June 15 and June 27 have been identified as potential minicamp dates. Recently, Newsom did float the idea of pro sports returning to California sooner than later.
In terms of the Northeastern United States, New Jersey followed suit with New York, announcing their minicamps will be allowed to open one day after Cuomo.
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross recently said on CNBC that he anticipates a 2020 NFL season. However, Ross was less certain on whether or not fans would be in attendance.
“I think there definitely will be a football season this year,” Ross said on Tuesday. “Real question is, will there be fans in the stadium? Right now — today — we’re planning to have fans in the stadium. We all miss our sports. The NFL, I think, will be ready to go. I know we’re all looking forward to it. I know I am.”
It appears the soonest fans could get in the seats is the regular season, meaning things would be quiet from the sidelines during preseason and training camp activities.
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