Rams players will begin arriving for COVID-19 testing on Monday and Tuesday as the team prepares for the start of training camp. The entire organization as a whole, however, has been getting ready for the arrival of players and staff for quite a while.
Like all other teams, they’ve been tasked with ensuring the facility adheres to league guidelines pertaining to social distancing and limiting the spread of germs – things like spreading lockers out, removing door handles and installing a temperature sensor when entering the building.
Steve Wyche of NFL Network got a tour of the Rams’ rearranged facility and shared some insight in a detailed article on NFL.com. One aspect of this complicated matter that could benefit the Rams is the locker room design.
Rather than putting players in the same position group together in the locker room, the Rams are separating them to hopefully limit the spread of germs among players who play the same position. But more importantly, they hope it leads to better team chemistry by encouraging players to interact with other position groups.
Typically, lockers are set up by position group. Not anymore. Quarterback Jared Goff’s locker has moved. More than six feet away is safety John Johnson’s locker. Six feet from Johnson’s is wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s locker. No players who play the same position have lockers close to one another — a strategic move to help limit potential germ and virus spread among individuals in the same position group, Scott said. It’s also a part of a plan to foster a new culture for a team that two seasons ago played in the Super Bowl, but now, after failing to make the playoffs in 2019, is re-discovering itself. Team leaders requested that players interact more with players they might not be as familiar with or spend as much time with so they can get to know guys better.
Since Sean McVay took over in 2017, there haven’t been any reported rifts or lack of chemistry among players. It’s an indication of just how good a job McVay has done connecting to players and creating a locker room situation that fosters strong energy.
That’s evident on the field and in McVay’s postgame locker room speeches, with players rallying around each other and maintaining a high level of energy, even when things weren’t going as planned last season.
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