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The Cincinnati Bengals will open training camp near the end of July like the majority of the league now that negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA have settled on agreed-upon details like opt-outs, preseason games and testing details, among other factors.
Those Bengals will adhere to the mandated testing rules for players as rookies like Joe Burrow get set to report Tuesday.
Here’s an extensive look at some of the precautions in place, courtesy of Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“It is only getting stranger this year. On Tuesday the rookies report, but only to the players’ parking lot where they’ll get a test for Covid-19. They can’t come back until they are tested again Friday, so they’ll have virtual meetings Wednesday and Thursday. Maybe they can get on the field Saturday if they’ve got two negative tests.
Then the veterans do it all over again, starting on July 28. With reports there are no pre-season games, they may not get on the field for days if they simply focus on strength and conditioning. When they do get two negative tests, they’ll get a locker in one of the four locker rooms the Bengals are using to spread out the players. In addition to the main locker room, they’ll work out in the band locker room, the men’s officials locker room and the women’s officials locker room.”
So while Burrow and rookies will technically “report” to camp Tuesday, the reality is a coronavirus test and a fallback into the all-virtual format to await results. Same thing when veterans report.
Not that these staggered report dates and testing contingencies are any sort of notable hiccup in the offseason process without preseason games. No exhibitions mean individuals and teams can take their time getting up and running before getting into practices and training before the real games potentially start in September.
In the interim, expect news on contractual items like Burrow’s rookie deal, which the Bengals don’t see any problems getting done once he’s in town.
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