The 49ers will continue to be behind the NFL’s protocol for reopening team facilities. The league Thursday sent a memo to teams declaring coaches would be allowed to return to work as long as the team doesn’t exceed the 100-person maximum in the building. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport tweeted the 49ers will be the only club unable to take that step.
49ers headquarters are located in Santa Clara County where local guidelines won’t permit the team to re-open its building. The NFL’s first step in league-wide re-opening was allowing a limited amount of front office and training personnel in while coaches and players continued their online programs. Local mandates supersedes league rules, and the 49ers are the only NFL team located in a county that won’t give permission to get back to in-person work.
Per Rapoport, “The team is aware and supportive of the plan and has been in communication with its local authorities to obtain all necessary permissions when available.”
Here is the crux of the memo that just went out to teams from the NFL regarding coaches being back in the building safely. Still no players, but a reason for optimism. pic.twitter.com/A8LyqqHJK3
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 4, 2020
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on May 18 that he expects sports to be back in early June should the state’s COVID-19 numbers continue to decline. There’s been no update since then, but if that’s still the case on June 4, it stands to reason the 49ers won’t be far behind other teams in getting coaches back into the facility.
For now the 49ers will continue their online offseason work with coaches and players. The team’s continuity and relative lack of roster turnover should help them adjust quickly once they do get back to work. The most important thing for San Francisco in terms of keeping up with the league’s timeline is to return for in-person workouts with the other 31 teams. Not getting to put coaches in the building right away on June 5 shouldn’t put them too far behind the curve.
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