The coronavirus pandemic forced the NFL to make a number of changes this offseason, ranging from canceling OTAs and minicamp to banning fans from attending training camp. Among the other restrictions the pandemic caused was forcing teams to stay at their primary headquarters for camp.
That means the Rams couldn’t travel to UC Irvine like they normally would, and instead had to set up camp in Thousand Oaks at Cal Lutheran. They remodeled the locker room and made changes to the campus to accommodate all the players and staff members, but it still wasn’t a camp-like feel for the Rams.
They didn’t stay on campus and drive golf carts together to practice. They didn’t get to run out onto the field through a sea of fans cheering them on. It was different, but it was the same for all teams in the league.
Jared Goff missed going away to camp this year, but he admitted there were benefits to staying home at Cal Lutheran.
“I think just like a lot of teams did, you miss out on the going to camp feeling,” he told reporters Wednesday. “You know, whether that’s positive or negative, who knows, but it is something that you kind of look forward to every year as a team and as a football player going away with your teammates essentially. I know we’re going down to Irvine, but going to a different location, being in a different area, having different, maybe restaurants to go to, or different people to see. You do miss that, but at the same time it was good to be kind of already in our rhythm. I think that’s the positive out of it. You do have a rhythm at this building, at the facility. All the coronavirus measures we’re taking, everything we have to know about, you do have that rhythm going. So, there are pros and cons.”
The Rams wrap up training camp with their final practice on Thursday, getting the day off on Friday before roster cuts are made on Saturday afternoon. Even as unusual and unique as this offseason was, the Rams made it work and got in three solid weeks of work before the season.