NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams on Friday granting them permission to reopen facilities, provided State and county regulations allow it.
In the memo, Goodell said that facilities will open in phases with the first allowing injured players back to rehab. Other coaches and players will not yet be permitted at team facilities, and no team is permitted to hold minicamps or OTAs.
Despite the first step towards reopening, the New York Giants will not be among the teams returning.
“It takes more time than four days to reopen a facility that has been shut down for two months. We are subject to state regulations,” Giants senior vice president of communications Pat Hanlon told NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network on Friday night. “Bottom line, when we are cleared on all fronts to go back, we will, in an orderly, systematic, safe way to protect those in our building. It has been a process and protocol we have been developing for the last month or two.”
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy recently extended the state’s public health emergency to June 6, which means the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford will remain closed for at least another three weeks.
The Giants closed their facilities on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but employees of the team have been working remotely since. They have also held a virtual offseason program for the past three weeks via video conferencing, including a voluntary three-day minicamp.
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